Second Chance
by Noofle
Summary: S1 Ep 1. A monster, a 38th century city and a man in a blue suit that Brittany never thought she would see again. Yeah...a recipe for disaster. Sequel to The Darkness Beneath.
1. A Mysterious Man

A/N - hello readers. For those who don't know, this is a sequel to my other story, "The Darkness Beneath", and it kind of follows on with the same characters. You could read on without reading the first story, and I can't stop you (obviously) but some things won't make sense. Anywho, read on and enjoy the first episode in my series. As the Doctor would say, _Allons y_!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.

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SERIES ONE: EPISODE ONE  
**SECOND CHANCE**

**CHAPTER ONE: A MYSTERIOUS MAN**

It was the middle of spring, and yet it was pouring down with rain. Brittany wandered down the street, her shoulder length brown hair hanging limply around her face and her eyes downcast. It was only an afternoon squall; it would all be over in twenty minutes, but it was a thirty-minute walk back to her flat. She cursed the tropical weather. She hated it. No one else was out walking. Brittany Harvey was the only person stupid enough to ignore the weather reports and walk home from work. Skimmers flitted down the street, their drivers safe and dry inside the winged vehicles.

Something jostled her, and she spun around to confront whoever it was, but when she turned, there was no one there. Shaking her head, she continued walking, wrapping her coat tighter around her shoulders. Then, something else ran into her, and she turned around sharply. A tall man brushed past her, shouting an apology. Before she had time to react, he was running down the street. His feet skidded on the wet pavement as he changed direction to dash down a side alley. Brittany caught a glimpse of red shoes, a blue suit and messy hair flattened from running through the rain before he disappeared.

"What a strange man," she muttered, jamming her hands in her pockets as she continued to walk.

What was even stranger was that she was sure that she had seen this man before somewhere, but she just couldn't put a name to the half-seen face. Normally she had a good memory for things like that. With a non-committal shrug, Brittany crossed the road, the flow of traffic zooming above her head.

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When she finally reached her flat, the rain had worsened, which was rare for an afternoon storm, but not unheard of. She dug her keycard out of her pocket and scanned it to open the door of her ground floor flat. The door clicked shut behind her as she entered and dropped her wet boots next to the doormat and peeled of her wet socks. She dumped them in the dirty washing basket in the hall as she made her way to the kitchen. Her flatmate was already there hunched over the stove, as she had a skimmer of her own.

"Hey Sal," Brittany said in greeting, dumping her backpack on the bench and rummaging through the cupboard.

"Decide to go for a swim?" Sally chuckled good-naturedly, stirring the pot of soup she was cooking. Brittany's mouth watered at the small wafting from the pot, and was glad when her flatmate offered her a bowl. She took it gratefully, grabbed a spoon and threw herself down on the couch. Sally down next to her with an identical bowl. They ate in silence for a while, but Brittany spoke up after she finished half her soup.

"Did you hear about all those disappearances down at the mine?" she asked, idly stirring her soup.

"Yeah. There's nothing on the news though, which is a bit odd, don't you think?" Sally said absently.

Brittany nodded. "I bet it's all a big cover up by the Central World Authority. Those CWA bureaucrats never tell us anything."

Sally laughed. "You and your conspiracy theories. Next, you'll be saying you've met an alien."

rittany laughed along with her, but did not think that comment was funny. She had met an alien, just once. Four years ago. It had been the most memorable experience of her life, and he had been the most amazing person that she had ever met. He had offered her what she had wanted her entire life, a chance to get away from this mudball that was the planet Sydoriv, her home, but she had turned him down. Every day of her life, she had wondered what would have happened if she had said yes, and gone with him in his spaceship to see the stars.

"So, anything else to report comrade," Brittany said, in a mock Russian accent.

Sally poked her in the shoulder. "Yes sir. Some guy was phoning you before. Claimed to know you from somewhere. He rang about six or seven times."

Brittany slurped her soup loudly. "Indeed?"

"Yes indeed. I think he left a message for you." Sally shrugged and grinned at Brittany. "Is there anything you want to tell me about?"

Brittany stood up and dropped her bowl in the sink on her way down the hall. "No."

"You sure?"

"Yes Sally. All you ever think about is guys!" she shouted from her room, closing the door and throwing herself down on the bed.

Her room was small, because she didn't spend much time in there. She was either at work or wandering the streets, hoping that if she looked hard enough, she might spot the alien again. She could only hope, but four years of searching had revealed nothing.

Three of the walls of her room were a uniform white colour, but the third was painted a smooth avocado green. There was a single window, which looked out over the street, but a blind currently covered it. A desk sat underneath the window, a computer terminal built into it. The screen was on, and facing at the bed, right where she'd left it when she'd used it this morning.

"Check messages," she instructed, and the computer gave a half-hearted beep before displaying her inbox. She had five messages. She squinted at the screen. The first one was from a workmate, but the other four were from an unknown caller, who she assumed was the man Sally had been talking about. She grabbed a pen from her pocket, and, after aiming carefully, threw it at the computer screen. It was a perfect aim, and hit the key for playing the first message square on.

The display on the screen dissolved and rearranged to show the image of a man with startling blue eyes and pale blonde hair.

"Brittany, this payload you've specified is ridiculous!" he was saying, making jabbing gestures with his hands. "It's at least twice the amount we need. We'll go way over budget if –" Another well-aimed pen deleted that message. If he wanted to talk to her about her project, he could do it tomorrow work.

The computer began automatically playing the next message, so Brittany refocused her attention on the screen. Her unknown caller turned out to be a man with brown hair and strange dress sense. She paused the image with a heroic pencil throw, and dragged herself to the chair in front of the desk. The image displayed in the screen was familiar to her. It was the strange man that had bumped into her on her way home from work.

His brown hair was strewn across his head, sopping wet and sticking up all over the place. He was wearing a plain black shirt, the top two buttons undone. Over that, he had a blue suit with red pinstripes. But what was really strange was the fact that he had what looked like a pair of cardboard glasses with one red lens and one blue lens perched on his nose. Brittany leaned back in the chair, and pressed play. The strange man furrowed his brow and tapped his finger against the screen.

"How do you work this thing?" he asked himself. "This button?" He was obviously jabbing at the controls, because he accidentally hung up.

Brittany chuckled to herself as the next message came on. This time, the picture was blurred, and she couldn't see the man at all. She could just make out a railing in the background. Something blue moved across her field of vision, and it turned out to be the mysterious man as he walked in front of the screen. He paused, and ducked down, looking at the screen, eyes impossibly wide and one eyebrow raised. This time he wasn't wearing the cardboard glasses, and Brittany could see that he had deep, brown eyes.

"You shouldn't be doing that," he muttered grumpily, and reached out to press a button, ending the message. The third message was from the same man again. He was licking his fingers, as if he had just finished eating. He spun the screen around to face him straight on, giving it a very serious stare.

"So," he started, a wide grin suddenly spreading across his face. "Long time no see, hey Brittany? Jack's back at home, if you wanted to know. And guess what! Pierre got that scholarship he wanted, the lucky bugger. Haven't heard from Lora though." He gave an indifferent shrug after a moment of thought.

"But what am I going on about?" he continued, his voice changing to a flat toneless pitch. "Let's cut to the chase. I need to meet up with you soon. It's important that –" He paused, and Brittany could just hear a beeping noise. The man flicked a few switches, but it didn't solve the problem. He frowned deeply as the alarm grew in volume.

With a glance back at the screen, he said, "I'll call you back."

The message ended, and Brittany leaned closer to the computer screen. Pierre and Lora? She recognised those names, but it had been years since she'd last heard from them. However, that line of thought was interrupted when the forth, and final, message began playing.

The man in the blue suit was right in front of the screen this time, his elbows resting on whatever desk the screen was on, and his head resting on his hands.

"Hey Brittany," he said cheerfully, but she could tell his heart wasn't in it. "Things have gotten worse, and we need to meet sooner." He paused, and dug a sheet of paper out of his suit. "I think the Skyliner would be a good place."

He spun the sheet around and pointed at one of the advertisements with a nod. "Yeah, I'll see you there. At breakfast, seven o'clock, tomorrow morning. Hold on, one more thing."

He pulled a necklace out from under his shirt, and showed it to her. It was some sort of metal key, suspended on what looked like fishing line. The man laughed. "I just realised that I've been wearing this while I was calling you. A perception filter. Not that you would know what that is," he added with an annoyed look on his face. With a fond look at the makeshift necklace, he slipped it off over his head and dropped it on the floor.

"Recognize me now?" he asked, grinning widely.

Brittany gasped. It had been four years since she had seen that man, but she would never be able to forget him.

It was the Doctor. He had come back.

Every day of her life, Brittany had regretted turning down the offer to travel with the Time Lord. But here was another chance. A chance to do things right for once in her life. A chance to change her future.


	2. Reunion

**A/N - Hello again...Hope you're enjoying the story so far. Not much to say at the moment. Yeah....so...um, what have you been up to? Really? That's interesting.....anyway, why are you reading this? You came here to read the story, not some pointless author note, so read on, and tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who...but I do own this story.**

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CHAPTER TWO: REUNION

Brittany keyed for the elevator doors to close. They obediently slid shut with a quiet hiss and, with a barely perceptible jolt, the elevator shot upwards. The Skyliner was a café on the 38th floor of the James McKillin building, a silvery sided skyscraper. She had no idea why the Doctor would choose this as a meeting place, especially as a spur of the moment decision. It was notoriously hard to get bookings for a meal, and Brittany half expected to be kicked out when she reached the right level. The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out. The café was huge, spanning the entire floor. The walls were curved glass, allowing uninterrupted views of the 38th century cityscape. She stood dumbfounded until one of the waitstaff tapped her on the arm.

"Can I help you?" the black uniformed man asked pleasantly.

Brittany jumped in surprise. "Oh, I, uh … was meeting a friend here," she said, searching the room for a blue suit. When she couldn't find one, she bit her lip, realising the Doctor hadn't managed to get a booking after all.

The waiter moved to a table sheltered by some tall potplants, and picked up a metal computer tablet. "May I ask what name the booking is under?" he queried, touching the tablet's screen to turn it on.

Brittany racked her brains for the name the Doctor had used all those years ago.

"Smith," she said at last. "John Smith."

The waiter looked surprised, but pointed to a table on the far side of the room. Brittany looked, and spotted a man wearing a brown coat, messy brown hair poking out the top. She quickly thanked the waiter and hurried towards the table he had indicated. The Doctor had managed to get a booking, and a window table no less. She sat down next to him, and gave him a huge smile. He looked around in alarm, but when he realised it was Brittany, he returned her wide grin.

"Toast?" he said, offering the plate in front of him. "All I've got is marmalade."

Brittany picked up a piece and took a bite out of it, watching the Doctor stare out of the window. It looked as if he hadn't aged at all. His face looked the same, if somewhat sadder, but he was undeniably unchanged.

She finished her toast and prodded him in the arm.

"So, enlighten me. How did you manage to get this booking?" she asked in a conspiratal tone. The Doctor waggled a long finger at her.

"Trade secret," he replied. "Anyway, long time, no see. How've you been?"

Brittany stared at him in disbelief. "Long time? It's been four years since I last saw you," she replied, suddenly very angry.

The Doctor looked worried, and his eyes keep straying to her hands, as if he feared physical retribution.

"Four years?" he asked. Brittany nodded sharply. "Really?" He scratched his head. "I thought it had only been a month. I didn't –"

"A month!" Brittany interrupted, shaking her head angrily. "How can you mistake a month for four years?"

The Doctor drummed his fingers on the table. "I'm never really good with dates. Don't really have much use for them, since my spaceship can travel in time."

Brittany laughed. "A time machine!" she exclaimed. "Don't be stupid. There's no such thing."

The Doctor glanced around warily, but no one was giving them any notice. "Keep it down," he hissed through his teeth. "That's what my spaceship, the TARDIS, is. A time travelling spaceship. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Hang on, I never asked. What year is it?"

Brittany blinked in confusion. "Year? 3706." She was actually starting to believe what the Doctor was saying. Where else would he have gotten his strange choice of clothing if it weren't through time travel? And, it also explained why he hardly looked older at all, even though she had last seen him four years ago.

"3706?" The Time Lord looked around the café. "No wonder this place is so new. It's only been ope six years. I was at the opening," he muttered absently. "Someone threw an ice sculpture at me."

"Doctor?"

He looked at Brittany in surprise. "Huh?" he said, a guilty look on his face. "I was getting distracted, wasn't I?"

Brittany made a point of rolling her eyes. "So."

The Doctor frowned. "So what?"

"Why did you want to see me?

"Isn't just wanting to catch up with you a good enough reason?"

"Not for you it's not," Brittany scoffed. "I have a feeling that something bad has happened and you want my help."

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair, messing it up even more.

"Yeah, you're right about that. This might not make sense at first, but I'll try to explain," he said with a half-hearted grin. "A rift has opened up a few miles out of this city. A rift is kind of like a hole in the fabric of space and time, a magic door if you like. It links two places together, allowing instant travel. However, this rift links to a place called the void. Now, the void is a rather nasty place, and a rift going there should be impossible, but it's happened and I need to close it before anything else comes through."

Brittany sat in silence for a while, and the Doctor decided not to say anything else. He knew it was a lot to take in all at once, but Brittany seemed to have a knack for understanding things far beyond what one would expect of her.

"What do you mean by 'something else'?" she asked, suspicious of the Doctor's choice of words.

The Time Lord smiled to himself and looked out the window. She was sharper than he'd remembered. "Something has already come through the rift. A voidic shade. Nasty thing. Almost impossible to get rid of. That's why I need to close this rift." He jabbed a finger at the window. "We need to go there."

Brittany looked at what he was pointing to. "A banana plantation?" she asked. "Is that where the rift is?"

"No, beyond that. The mine." He paused. "Is that a banana plantation? I hadn't noticed that."

"Doctor…"

"Oh, right. Sorry." He leaned back in his chair and thumped his feet up on the table. "The rift has opened up at the mine." He grinned at Brittany. "And it just so happens that I have the perfect way in."


	3. It was an Accident!

**A/N - This chapter suddenly deviated from my original plans, but I think it works better, and frankly, I couldn't be stuffed writing anything too complex. Anways, read on. That is why you are here?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who....but I do own a couple of shiny Doctor Who boxsets.**

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**CHAPTER THREE: IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!**

The Doctor paced unhappily around the cell. Brittany watched him walk backwards and forwards, scuffing his feet on the rough plascrete floor. She had always thought plascrete was a strange idea. Who would ever think of mixing concrete and plastic together? Plascrete was a strong as concrete, but slightly translucent, like plastic. A jumble of wires and pipes were visible, snaking underneath the floor. She was sitting on the only bunk in the room, which probably meant they weren't going to be here long. They didn't expect her to share a single bed with the Doctor, did they? No way. He would be sleeping on the floor.

The Doctor paused his pacing, and stared at the door. The guards had confiscated his sonic screwdriver, suspecting it to be some kind of alien technology. However, they hadn't taken his other weapon. He pounded on the metal door, shouting to be let out. A grille at face height slid open, and a face peered in.

"What is it now?" the guard growled.

"You can't keep me in here!" the Doctor exclaimed, pulling a battered leather wallet out of his coat. "I have…um, diplomatic immunity." He flashed the psychic paper at the guard. "I'm the ambassador of Salideen. You can't keep me in here."

The grille slid shut, and the Doctor could just hear hurried whispering from the other side of the door.

He tucked his wallet back in his pocket, and gave Brittany a smug look. She jumped off the bunk and stood next to him.

"What did you show him?" she asked, elbowing the alien in the ribs.

He waggled a finger in her face. "Trade secret," he said with a smirk. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"That's a cheering thought," Brittany sighed, and stuck her lip out in a mock pout. Then she smiled. "Well, since you got us in here, you had better get us out."

"It was an accident."

"It was still your fault."

"How was I supposed to know that they would have security systems in the ventilation tunnels?"

"You're the exceedingly intelligent alien. You're supposed to know these things."

"Well, I didn't."

"Obviously."

The Doctor crossed his arms, and turned his back on Brittany. It wasn't his fault their infiltration into the mine had gone wrong. He had thought up a brilliant, excellent and foolproof plan that practically guaranteed entrance to the mine and, in turn, the rift.

There was a network of ventilation tunnel that had been dug to keep air flowing through the mine. However, one of these tunnels had an entrance just outside of the mine, and that was the one the Doctor had planned to use to gain access to the main passages.

It worked out well at the start. His sonic screwdriver opened the entrance no problems. The shaft had been high enough for him to stand up straight in, so there was no problem there either. One thing he hadn't counted on was that the ventilation tunnels having in-built security systems. He hadn't even realised that they'd been noticed until police officers came running at them from both ends of the tunnel. They hadn't even given him a chance to pull out his psychic paper to prove that he was meant to be there. So rude.

Now he kind of felt kind of bad about it. He'd dragged Brittany into this whole mess, and she could get into some serious trouble for it. Not as serious as him, being a heretofore undiscovered species of alien, but still serious enough.

He corrected himself. She had come of her own free will. The dangerous situation hadn't been forced on her, unlike some of his previous companions. This thought didn't make him feel much better, but it took the edge off his feelings.

A loud clunk from the door caused both him and Brittany to turn around sharply. He quickly filed his thoughts away for future contemplation, and focused his attention on the situation at hand. He took a step back and jammed his hands in his pockets casually.

The door swung open to reveal a guard standing in the doorway, with what looked like a rather long, shiny and _deadly_ rifle hanging loosely from one of his hands. He waved for the two prisoners to follow him, and started walking down the corridor beyond the doorway. The Doctor shrugged and followed the guard, giving Brittany a wink on his way out the door.

She hesitated for a moment, but trailed after the Time Lord, realising she would probably be better off with the Doctor.

The corridor they were being led down had the same plascrete floor as the cell, but the walls were a dull, clouded metal. The Doctor paused and peered at it, and was rewarded with a blurred reflection. He ran his hand along the metal as he continued walking.

According to the Doctor's current thoughts, whoever designed this building had no imagination whatsoever. The ceiling of the corridor was made of more plascrete, and strip lights punctuated it every few metres. Power cables connecting the lights were just visible through the translucent ceiling. Shadows flickered across the plascrete, and the Doctor decided that it was people walking around on the floor above.

The Time Lord started to get suspicious that his psychic paper hadn't worked when their guide led them into a part of the building that looked in disrepair compared to the corridors they had been walking through previously. The walls, ceilings and floors were all normal, dull, grey concrete, and the strip lights ran along the wall, exposed cables dangling in tangled bunches. Pipes snaked across the floor at irregular intervals, hindering the Doctor's long stride.

He was ready to complain about his stubbed toes and damaged shoes when the guard motioned for them to stop. In front of them was a large metal door recessed back into a concrete wall. The guard scanned the ID badge pinned to his chest across a small sensor, which proceeded to make a beeping noise. The door before them clunked loudly as unseen mechanisms released the locks holding it in place. The guard quickly herded the two prisoners inside the room once the door opened.

The Doctor quickly checked his new surroundings for danger. You could never be too careful, and he had made many mistakes by being just a little bit too careless. He inspected every corner, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary.

They had entered a small, square room. Three of the walls were concrete; the third was glass. An identical room was visible through the glass wall, and a second metal door obviously allowed access to that room. There was a single chair in the middle of each room, and a single strip light above each chair.

The Doctor had a horrible suspicion about this room, and the guard only helped to confirm that suspicion when he forced the alien into the chair. He sat down without a struggle, and gave the guard a wide grin.

"Any chance of a cup of tea?" he asked, but the guard ignored his question. The Doctor shrugged and leaned back, balancing his chair on its back two legs. "Obviously not then."

He was not at all surprised when the guard took Brittany by the arm and led her into the second room. He gave her a reassuring wink, but knew saying anything would invoke an angry response. It was always like that with humans. Try to reassure them, and they'd get all furious at you for getting them into this situation in the first place.

Brittany was seated in the chair in the middle of the other room, and she set about swinging her legs wildly and trying to look calm, even though it was obvious that she was not in the least bit comfortable.

The guard then returned to the Doctor's room, closing the door that linked the two chambers. He turned to the Time Lord.

"You will answer all questions put to you truthfully," he instructed, before leaving through the door they had originally entered through.

"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," the Doctor intoned, but the guard had already left, the door thumping shut behind him.

The Time Lord sighed and looked around the room. He'd been in this position so many times he couldn't count them any more. Someone was going to interrogate him, but they were dealing with a professional escape artist. And he didn't necessarily need his sonic screwdriver. Sometimes, words were all he required.


	4. Interrogation and Unexpected Help

**A/N - Hello Faithful reader (I just felt like saying that. You're probably not faithful at all, but...meh). I just wanted to ask, who likes pineapple? I like pineapple. I don't know why I asked that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who....but I do own a piece of pineapple.**

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CHAPTER FOUR: INTERROGATION AND UNEXPECTED HELP

Brittany did not appreciate being thrown into a small room and forced to sit in a rather uncomfortable chair. It was on the bottom of her 'things to do' list. When she glanced at the Doctor, he looked like he was actually enjoying himself, grinning wildly and apparently whistling. The two rooms were soundproof, so she couldn't make out what tune he was whistling, but she doubted she'd know anyway.

She wondered if it was always like this with the Doctor. Was he always getting captured for being in places he shouldn't be? Was he always being chased by hordes of ravenous monsters? It didn't seem like the kind of life she'd choose if she had the choice, but then again…

It did seem exciting.

Brittany wondered what had happened to Captain Jack. She recalled the Doctor saying that he had gone home, wherever that was, but still she wondered if something had happened to him. She remembered the day that she last saw Jack clearly, and could recall asking him if it was always dangerous wherever he went. He had said yes. She just hoped that the danger hadn't caught up to him.

Maybe it would have been safer to stay in the cell. Danger seemed to follow the Doctor like a magnet, and that was no exaggeration. Brittany sighed heavily.

She'd get through this day, and help the Doctor save the planet.

Then, she was going to kill him.

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The Doctor was not thinking about important issues at all. He was more concerned with the state of his shoes. While he was whistling, he was carefully inspecting his red Converse sneakers for damage. There was a surprising amount, and the Doctor decided that the next time he visited twentieth-century Earth he was going to replace his current pair.

A sudden burst of static distracted the Time Lord from his examination of the acid burns on the soles of his shoes. He paused his whistling mid-chorus, and looked up from his feet, mouth slightly ajar. There was a slight shimmering in the air in front of him, and the Doctor quickly identified it as a hologram program.

"Lets see who you are then," he said to himself, folding his arms and crossing one knee over the other.

The shimmering air darkened, and the image of a man formed. He was about the same height as the Doctor, with close-cropped brown hair and dark green-brown eyes. His mouth was set in a grim line, and he looked at the Time Lord with such a piercing gaze that the alien gave an involuntary shudder. It was as if the man could see inside him, and tell what he was thinking.

The Doctor current thought was something about getting that cup of tea he asked for, but he quickly discarded that as unlikely to happen, and instead focused on the interrogator. The holographic man began to pace slowly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"You are not an ambassador. That much is obvious to us," he growled in a voice that sounded like broken glass. "So, tell me. Who are you really?"

The Doctor pulled an expression of pure innocence. "Not an ambassador? What, am I not ambassadory enough for you?"

The interrogator paused and fixed the Doctor with a fierce glare. The Time Lord returned the glare, and the interrogator seemed pleased with his captive's reaction. He began pacing again.

"All ambassador's must register themselves with the Central World Authority upon arrival, and records show that you did not." The Doctor caught the barest hint of a smirk, but it quickly disappeared. "Also, the planet of Salideen does not exist."

The Time Lord grimaced. "Whoops," he muttered. "Couple of centuries too early."

The interrogator came to a halt in front of the Time Lord. "I will ask again. What is your name?"

The Doctor unfolded his arms and legs, and rested his hands on his lap with a smile. "I refuse to answer that question, as my right as a free citizen." He locked gazes with the interrogator. "Under Section 2, sub-section 3, paragraph 7, lines 1 through 12 of the Central World Authority of Sydoriv's Regulations, you are, required by law, to tell me who you are, what authority you work for, and why I am being kept here."

The interrogator indulged in a small half smile. "Someone knows their regulations back to front," he said grudgingly.

"And sidewards too," the Doctor added.

"I am indeed required to tell you that. Very well. My name is inspector Jana Piwanski, and I work for Special Investigations branch of the CWA."

He sighed, and stared at the ceiling. Suddenly, he seemed much less the intimidating interrogator, and more of just a normal guy who really didn't want to be where he was.

"And you have been brought here for twenty-two instances of breaking and entering-"

The Doctor held up a hand. "I can explain that."

"-five instances of shoplifting-"

"I can explain that as well."

"-three instances of assaulting an officer of the law-"

"It wasn't really assault…"

"-and two cases of murder."

"I can…hold on. Did you say murder?"

Jana inclined his head. "That is correct."

"I had nothing to do with that, I assure you." The Doctor put on his most trustworthy face, but Jana wasn't buying it. It was time to try a different approach. "But," he continued. "I might just know what was behind the murders."

Jana narrowed his eyes. "Enlighten me"

The Doctor waggled a finger. He had the upper hand now, and he was going to play with his advantage. "I won't say until you confirm something for me first."

"Go ahead."

"You know I'm innocent, don't you?" the Doctor asked slyly. Jana tensed, and the Doctor laughed. "I can see it in your eyes. You know I didn't murder those people, but I'm your only lead, right?"

Jana said made no more obvious movements, but the Doctor could tell his mind was working at a furious pace, trying to think through his next statement.

"Well," the Doctor continued, clapping his hands together. "Now that I have you off guard, I think an introduction is in order." He waved cheerfully. "Hi. My name is the Doctor, and I'm here to save your entire planet from complete and utter destruction." As an afterthought, he added, "Got a problem with that?"

Jana shook his head, but quickly stopped when he realised how stupid he looked. "Doctor, I think we need to speak in person."

"I think we do. But before that, could I get a cup of tea?"

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**A/N - Ah, tea. The solution to everything. If anyone is reading this, please review. I like reviews. I get all excited when someone reviews one of my stories.**


	5. Strange Disappearances

**A/N: Please read and enjoy. I've been slacking off and writing the next story in my series, but meh. I can do what I like. Please read and review, it makes me happy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who...but I do own a glittery rock. Ooo..shiny!**

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**CHAPTER FIVE: STRANGE DISAPPEARANCES**

It was raining again when Saasha's lunchbreak ended. He longed to be stuck in an office somewhere, but instead he was tramping through the mud to check on some faulty machinery. It was weird, but in the past couple of days, a lot of the mining machinery had been breaking down more than usual. No system was foolproof, but this was just strange. Everyday, something new was malfunctioning.

Saasha flashed his ID card as he walked past a security booth into the mine itself. He stepped into a lift and activated the mechanism. As the elevator engaged, he pulled up a holographic map from his wrist unit. The place was huge, and he still didn't really know his way around. That was the thing with all the machinery being automated; even though it meant he only had to check on it every couple of days, it also meant that ha had quite a bit to get through. Better machinery meant bigger mines, which meant better machinery had to be built which in turn, meant that bigger mines could be built. The cycle went on.

He disembarked the lift, and stepped out into a brightly lit tunnel. A couple of the workers hurrying about on their business gave him friendly nods, but most just passed by him without a second glance. To them, he was just the fix-it guy, the man who kept the mine running smoothly. Saasha couldn't care less if the workers liked him or not. He was getting payed a ridiculous amount of money to fix the machinery, and a few harsh glares were a small price to pay.

He headed off into the tunnels, navigating using his holographic map. In one hand he held a sheaf of printouts and status reports, directing him to what he needed to fix. Now he was entering darker and more cramped tunnels. He was probably the first person to set foot in this part of the mine in days, and the thought made him uncomfortable.

It wasn't as well built as previous sections, and clumps of dirt occasionally fell from the ceiling. There hadn't been any cave-ins yet, but there was always a first time.

As Saasha walked, the map projected from his wrist unit flickered and disappeared. A quick check on the wristband revealed that it was dead; the battery completely drained. Saasha shivered. It felt like someone was watching him, but when he turned around, the tunnel was empty. Hairs prickling on the back of his neck, he walked further down the passageway.

* * *

The Doctor settled down into a nicely padded chair, and thumped his feet up on the desk in front of him. Jana didn't comment on the dirty shoes now on his desk; he was busy pulling up data on a computer terminal on the other side of the room. It wasn't a big office. It had the same concrete construction as the interrogation rooms; all it lacked was the glass wall. Bookcases and shelving lined the walls, rows of books and binders filling every exposed surface. There was a nicely varnished wooden desk in the centre of the room, which the Doctor had commandeered as a footrest. There was a large, comfortable chair either side of the desk.

The Doctor inspected the mess covering the desk over his feet. It was definitely a working area; stacks of paper and printouts filled much of the available surface. Tagged samples were littered among the piles, along with stray coffee cups and half eaten meals. One object in particular caught his attention. He picked up the paperback novel, and scanned the title. Bram Stoker's Dracula. Good to know that the classics were still appreciated, even in the 38th century. He dropped the book back on the desk as Jana sat down in the chair opposite him. He then respectfully took his feet off the table, and leaned forward, hands on the desk.

"So, who wants me arrested," he asked.

Jana noticed the glint in the Time Lord's eyes, and quickly answered the question. "Frankly, I have no idea. All I know is that it came from someone highly placed in the Central World Authority, and the only way I can get the order rescinded is by taking them to the High Courts, and I'd rather not do that. Everyone knows that the courts are corrupt."

He paused, and looked at the sheets in his hands. "Everyone in the justice forces has orders to arrest anyone who goes by the name of 'the Doctor", John Smith or James McKrimmon. There was a picture of you and everything. As soon as you made a booking at the Skyliner café, I sent officers out. I didn't want the CWA getting you before I found out the truth."

The Doctor leaned back in his chair, hands now tucked behind his head. "Obviously someone doesn't like me. The only question now is who?" He chuckled to himself. "I could name hundreds of people who hate me, but not one of them lives on Sydoriv." He pointed at the papers in Jana's hand. "May I?"

"Go ahead," the inspector replied, handing the printouts to the Time Lord. "It's about what's been happening at the mine. Nothing's been made public, of course, but there's been some strange things going on."

The Doctor read through the reports at a glance, and chucked them onto the desk. "I can see that," he said. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Why don't you trust the CWA?"

Jana gave a shrug. "Call me paranoid, but the arrest warrant for you was issued only ten minutes after the first disappearance was reported. They couldn't have discovered the culprit so fast."

"Politics," the Doctor groaned.

Jana nodded readily. "My thought exactly. Someone thinks you know too much, and wants you taken care of. Who would want to get rid of you though?"

"Any number of people, but none of them on Sydoriv." The Doctor frowned deeply. "That complicates things. It means an offworlder is influencing your so called 'authorities' to make them see me as a threat." He dismissed that thought with a shrug. "No doubt I'll find out soon enough. But first, that rift needs to be taken care of."

"Rift?" Jana queried, not taking his eyes off the Doctor as the Time Lord stood up.

"Mister Piwanski, I know exactly what has been causing the disappearances, and you're not going to like it." The Doctor pulled a pair of dark-rimmed glasses out of his suit and put them on. He grabbed a report off the inspector's desk and quickly read it. After handing it to Jana, he began pacing the room.

Jana skimmed through the sheet handed to him. "What do the power fluctuations have to do with the disappearances?" he asked, looking up from the report and following the Time Lord's progress around the room with his eyes.

"You've been getting warning signs for months," the Doctor explained. "You see, a rift is a hole in the fabric of space and time. It takes phenomenal energy to create one, and a steady power source to keep it open for any length of time. To understand rifts, you need to imagine the universe as a stretch of road." Jana nodded. "Right. If you want to get from point A to point B, you have to walk," the Doctor continued, pointing first at one side of the room, then the other. "But a rift bends reality, forcing the two points together. Then, it only takes one step to get from A to B."

"So, what you're saying is that a rift has opened up in the mine?"

"Exactly!" the Doctor exclaimed with a nod. "But this rift is linked up with the void, which is a rather nasty place, I'm afraid. And something has come through the rift. A voidic shade."

"And that's what killed the two workers?"

The Doctor nodded gravely. "All we need to do is close the rift, which is simple enough, and catch the shade, which is going to be slightly more difficult that I thought."

Jana thought hard about what the Doctor had told him. "You know how far-fetched this sounds?"

"Yup," the Doctor replied, walking to the door. He opened it and gestured for Jana to walk through. "After you."

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Jana! I like Jana. He's cool. I don't why; he just is. Please review. I've only got two.**


	6. A Chase and a Half

**A/N: Hooray for happy snaps, plastic sushi and confuzzling the general public (a quote taken from one of my friends) And on that note...let us begin!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who...but I wish I owned some plastic sushi.**

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CHAPTER SIX: A CHASE AND A HALF

The Doctor and Brittany emerged onto the street, with Jana in tow. He refused to be left behind, in case this was all just a ruse to escape from custody. Brittany had no idea what the Doctor had done to get them out, but she was thankful for it, not that she was going to tell him. She felt like holding him responsible for getting them captured just a bit longer.

The street looked normal enough, with shiny skimmers zooming between the steel and glass skyscrapers, but the Doctor knew appearances could be deceptive. He had his sonic screwdriver in his hand and was flipping it in the air and catching it again, just to keep his hands occupied as he scanned the street. He tucked his screwdriver away and pulled out his 3D glasses. Jana watched him sceptically as he put them on.

"Brittany? The Doctor asked, staring at the vehicles flying overhead. "Do you have a skimmer we can use?"

She shook her head. "No, but we can use the work skimmer. It's a five minute walk from here."

"That's good, because-" He stopped mid-sentence, his head snapping around to follow the path of a certain skimmer. He shook his head slowly. "Oh, that's nasty," he said. "Nasty and clever. Just what I hate."

Brittany stared at the skimmers, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "What is it Doctor?"

The Doctor looked at her in surprise, then pressed the 3D glasses onto her face. "Look now," he said, pointing at the traffic of skimmers. Brittany peered upwards. Just underneath the bellies of the flying vehicles was a pale golden trail. The edges of it swirled as she moved her head, as if it were shifting in and out of focus. As she watched, it began to fade.

Handing the glasses to Jana, she asked, "And what is that?"

"Void stuff," the Doctor explained. "And since our friend the shade is made of pure void energy, what were seeing is a very powerful example." He took the glasses from Jana and perched them on his own nose. "The shade was hanging onto the bottom of a skimmer. While it makes it hard to reach, it also makes it very easy to track." He frowned, then dashed off in pursuit without warning.

Brittany followed him without surprise. Jana ran after the pair. The Doctor was confusing him more than anything else he'd ever had to deal with. It was strange how his ramblings seemed to make sense, and, even though he had known him for a few minutes and thought him completely mad, Jana trusted him completely.

Up ahead, the Doctor was staring at where the trail left the skimmers and disappeared into a building. "Doctor," Brittany panted when she noticed that the Time Lord had come to a halt. "My work is back the other way."

The Doctor frowned at her. "There's no time for that now," he said. "We need to get this shade, or there's no chance of the rift ever closing." Once Jana caught up, he pointed at a tall skyscraper. "See that office block? Our shady friend jumped off his taxi there, so that's where we need to go."

"Hey you!"

The trio spun around at the sound of the call. Two police officers were making their way across the road. The Doctor pointed to himself.

"Who, me?"

"Yes you!"

The Doctor shook his head. "Couldn't be. I don't even eat cookies."

One of the police officers stopped to think that over. "What are you going on about?" he asked.

"I didn't steal the cookies from the cookie jar, if that's what you're asking."

"Stop this nonsense!" the second police officer shouted. "You're under arrest."

The Doctor frowned. "For stealing cookies?"

"No. For twenty-two cases of breaking and entering, five instances of shoplifting–"

The Doctor interrupted him. "Three instances of assaulting an officer of the law and two cases of murder. Yeah, I know." To Brittany and Jana, he whispered, "I would have much preferred it if it was only about the cookies. I can easily explain that. I was hungry, and they looked very tasty."

"Will you come quietly?" the first police officer asked.

"No," the Doctor said with a smile. Grabbing Brittany and Jana by the arm, he shouted, "Run!"

Saasha watched nervously as the lights overhead flickered. If they went out, it would be pitch black down here, for there was no way any light from the surface could reach this far. He continued to walk in silence, having long since given up on trying to reactivate his wrist unit.

* * *

Suddenly the tunnel opened up into a wide cavern. The open space was a perfect sphere, its walls completely smooth. Saasha stood at the lip of the tunnel, looking down the ten metres to the floor of the sphere. He could just make out another tunnel exactly opposite the one he was standing in, half-way up the wall, but it was hazy and distorted, as if he were viewing it through water. However, when he looked at the ceiling and floor, he could see them clearly, which seemed to imply that the disturbance was in the direct centre of the strange room.

Saasha took a few steps backwards, startled as his breath misted out in front of him. A coldness radiated from that room. It was like an icy wind was blowing through the tunnel. But that should be impossible; he was hundreds of metres underground. There shouldn't be any wind.

A clump of dirt fell onto his shoulder and he retreated further away from the circular room. There was a low hiss by his left ear, and Saasha decided it was a prudent time to run.

* * *

The Doctor peered around the corner of the alleyway he'd ducked down and muttered, "And I thought it couldn't get any worse."

Brittany appeared next to him. "What is it?"

He pointed out onto the main street. "Our friends have called backup. Don't know why. I'm not even armed." Three skimmers had parted from the flow of traffic and were landing in the middle of the road. "Someone with a lot of influence is out to get me," the Doctor said as he pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his suit. "But they don't know what they've gotten themselves into."

He grabbed both Brittany and Jana by the arm and dragged them to the other side of the alley. Using the screwdriver to open a door, he pushed the two humans inside the building, following them at a run. He locked the door behind them, and started sprinting across the room. It was full of office cubicles separated by chest-high walls. The Doctor vaulted over the first one effortlessly, but Jana and Brittany had slightly more trouble.

Leaving a trail of smashed potplants, broken dividers and scattered papers in his wake, the Doctor made a beeline for a door on the opposite side of the room. He slammed it open and ran through, closely followed by his two human accomplices. They emerged into another alley, but didn't stop running. The Doctor used the screwdriver to open another door and disappeared inside. Crashes and yells from behind them showed that the police were hot on their trail and running through the ground floor of the office building they'd just left.

"Can you two run any slower?" the Doctor exclaimed, jogging on the spot as he waited fro the humans to catch up.

"I'm not exactly an Olympic athlete," Brittany panted, barely able to keep up with Jana, let alone the Doctor's long-strided run.

As soon as the humans caught up with the Time Lord, he was running again, this time past a receptionist's desk. He gave a cheery wave to the lady sitting there and vanished out of a side door. Jana grabbed Brittany and pulled her forward at a run when he noticed she was lagging behind.

Suddenly, they were out in the open again, and could see police running at them from the side. Brittany spotted a flash of brown coat disappearing inside a slightly ajar door, and dragged Jana inside.

The Doctor slammed the door shut behind them, and used his screwdriver to lock it. He dashed across to the other side of the building and opened the only other door a crack. He was confronted by a police officer who almost toppled inside he was so close and quickly closed and locked that door as well.

He nodded towards the back of the room. "Up the stairs," he whispered. Brittany went first, padding silently up to the next level. Jana followed almost immediately, but the Doctor waited until he heard the first thumps on the doors.

He didn't stop at the second floor, and instead ran to the roof, getting Brittany and Jana to follow him up. They ran up five flights of stairs before emerging into the sunlight. They could hear the police down in the alley below, banging repeatedly on the doors and calling out threats.

The Doctor pointed at the next building across, a tall skyscraper that stretched upwards like a steel and glass spear.

"That's where the shade went," he said. "So that's where we need to go."

"How do we do that? The roads are crawling with police," Jana pointed out.

"Well done Captain Obvious," Brittany muttered darkly.

The Doctor gave them both a you're-really-not-going-to-like-what-I-say-next grin. "I have a plan, but you're really not going to like it," he said. There was a crash from downstairs as one of the doors was kicked in. "No time to explain," he continued, baking up. He paused, hopping from one foot to the other, judging the distance to the next building.

Jana stared at him. "You're not…"

The Doctor gave him a wink. "I am." He ran at the edge of the building and leapt out across the gap, arms and legs flailing wildly in the air. Brittany and Jana ran to the edge and watched him land heavily on a window-cleaning platform hanging off the side of the skyscraper. He gave them the thumbs up.

Brittany shook her head. "I'm so going to kill him after this." She was beginning to compile a list of things she was going to kill the Doctor for, and grinned at the thought of that. She backed up and took a running leap. For a moment, she thought she wasn't going to make it, but the Doctor caught her, stumbling back into the window behind him.

Jana took a few steps back and paused, jogging on the spot. This was going to be the craziest thing he had done in his entire life. It was also the most insanely dangerous thing he had ever done, and he hesitated, worried about what would happen if he didn't make it. However, feet pounding up the stairs helped him make up his mind, and he ran at the edge, jumping at the last possible second. His squeezed his eyes shut, waiting to hit the pavement five stories below. Instead, his foot caught the railing of the cleaning platform, flipping him around until he landed heavily on his back on top of Brittany's feet. She offered her hand, and he gratefully let himself be dragged to his feet.

The Doctor gave Jana a strange look. "That was a rubbish jump, you know that?"

"Well, it's not like I make a habit of leaping off buildings," Jana retorted.

The Doctor shrugged. "Doesn't make your jump any better." He ran his sonic screwdriver along the window frame. There was a click, and the entire pane of glass fell inwards, shattering into thousands of glittering shards when it hit the floor. The Time Lord tucked his screwdriver away and climbed through the empty window frame. He adjusted the 3D glasses that were still balanced on his nose, and quickly scanned the room. It was completely empty of life, voidic or otherwise.

"What level does the skimmer traffic fly past?" he asked, picking up a cardboard box and inspecting it closely. Jana and Brittany conferred with each other.

"The 18th, I'm pretty sure," Jana said. The Doctor dropped his box and clapped him on the back.

"Good man," he said happily, hammering the buttons for the lift.

* * *

**A/N: Put your hands up if you want plastic sushi. No-one? Oh well, more for me then. **


	7. Winter Frost

**A/N: Just a short chapter this time. I didn't want to give away too much. So read on and...wait for it, wait for it....nah, I lost the moment.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who......but I did have some jellybabies. They're all gone now. *sniffle***

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CHAPTER SEVEN: WINTER FROST

Saasha gripped the controls of his skimmer so tight that his knuckles were white. He didn't know how long he had run for, but he did know that something had been following him the entire way. Whatever it was, he knew he didn't want it to catch him. It had just felt…evil.

He flicked the lights on the dashboard, which still insisted on showing him nothing out of the ordinary, even though the engines were struggling to produce enough power to keep the winged vehicle airborne. There was nothing wrong with the engine or fuel, it was more like the power wasn't getting from the engine to the exhaust jets; like it was getting lost somewhere in between.

He angled the nose of the skimmer down, flitting along just above the road, the engine stuttering and clanking, obviously close to death.

"Come on," he growled, thumping the dashboard. It was only another couple of blocks to the office where he worked two days every week. All he had to do was make it there.

* * *

As soon as the lift doors opened, the Doctor knew the shade had been here. There was a hazy orange trail leading from a smashed window on the roadside of the room to an open door opposite the elevator. He carefully stepped over the trail, but Brittany and Jana, not being able to see it, walked straight through it. It swirled around their legs like mist, and Brittany shivered. To her, it felt like there was an icy cold draft in the room.

The Doctor looked through the open door. It looked like a small storage room, filled with cardboard boxes and scattered pieces of furniture. The whole room was filled with cloudy orange smoke. He whistled.

"Someone's been busy," he said, ignoring the cold and stepping into the room. "Now, where are you?"

"Doctor!" Brittany shouted as something unseen latched onto the Doctor's wrist and pulled him out of sight.

* * *

The skimmer slid smoothly into the holding rack, and Saasha sighed in relief. Right at the end of the flight, the skimmer had been bucking up and down, every stray gust of wind sending careening off course. For a few minutes, he hadn't thought he would have made it, but he'd managed. Now he needed to go warn someone, before anyone else got hurt.

Saasha punched the door release controls, but the doors refused to open. After smacking the button a few more times, he realised it was pointless. He tried the manual release, but the door was completely jammed shut, refusing to budge no matter what amount of pressure he put on it. Giving up on trying to force the door open, he reached for the communications device. He tried it a few times, but it was dead. He wasn't even getting static.

This was turning out to be a really bad day. First, his wrist unit had lost power, and it still hadn't come back on, then he'd been chased by an invisible monster, and now he was stuck in his skimmer with no way out, and no way of calling for help.

Saasha turned the ignition on, but nothing happened. The skimmer was completely dead, no power whatsoever. He thought hard for a moment. Either he could wait for someone to wander by and help him, or he could be proactive and try and get out. Smashing a window might work, but he'd need something hefty to swing. Most skimmers had a tool kit under the back seat. If he could just reach over and get it…

Saasha was halfway out of his seat when the cabin of the vehicle became deathly cold. He went to scream, but something clammy and cold latched over his mouth.

* * *

When the creature grabbed his wrist, the Doctor's first thought was that it was a lot more powerful than he had originally believed. It felt as all the warmth was being sucked out of his body, out of his whole life. He tried to shout, to warn Brittany and Jana, but his voice box refused to make a noise. The touch of a shade was the bane of life, or at least that's what all the old stories claimed. He had never actually been close enough to a shade before to touch it and test that theory, so the complete and icy coldness took him by surprise.

He tried to pull his hand away, but the shade was incredibly strong. It had its green and red mottled hand clamped in a vice-like grip around his wrist. The Doctor sank to his knees, feeling his strength waning as the shade absorbed his life energy.

"No," he managed to croak. Every breath was a struggle, his throat constricting from the cold. He never thought he would die like this. Killed by a dalek, sure. Tripping over a brick and hitting his head, entirely possible. But being killed by a creature that shouldn't even be in this universe, well, he hadn't imagined that. It was so cold. So very cold. He was finding it hard to think; clearly alarmed that he couldn't come up with any escape plans, let alone rational thoughts. His vision blurred, and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

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A/N: Yay! Another chapter done, hooray! I'm ruining the mood, aren't I? Ummm, yeah. Oh no! The Doctor's gonna die!!! (shrugs)


	8. Lunchtime

**A/N: Back due to popular demand, is the Doctor and his entourage, ie, Brittany and Jana. I had to bribe the Doctor with a some banana bread to get him to come back after the last chapter, but it was worth it (and the banana bread tasted so good). So read on, and stare in wonderment at the chair of death. That was a stupid name, but, meh.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.....but I wish I owned a chair made of bubble wrap. Imagine the noise it would make when you sat on it!**

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**CHAPTER EIGHT: LUNCHTIME**

The Doctor yelled as searing pain shot up his arm. He collapsed to the floor, the freezing cold gone, the numbness leaving his fingers. Brittany knelt down next to him. "Are you all right?" she asked, obviously concerned about his wellbeing.

He waved her question off. "Me? I'm always alright," he wheezed, massaging the red welt that was forming on his forearm. The Time Lord was far from alright, but he didn't want to say that.

Brittany looked sheepish. "Yeah, sorry about that," she said guiltily. "The first thing I put my hands on was a chair, and I kind of swung it blindly."

The Doctor shook his head and staggered to his feet. "A chair? Well, no harm done." He stood there swaying for a few seconds, before falling over backwards. Jana helped him to his feet again.

"Doctor, what was that?"

The Doctor looked at Brittany, and she could tell he was in pain and trying not to show it. There were deep bags under his eyes that hadn't been there before, and he was breathing heavily. "That, Brittany, was a voidic shade," he said, turning is head to look at the gaping hole in the wall. "Nasty thing." He smiled widely, and ran after it.

The Doctor, Brittany and Jana were in hot pursuit of the shade, and were running down a busy street. Part of the Doctor said that he should stop running and play it safe, but he ignored that part, instead retorting with the question 'when did he ever play it safe?' The two humans followed him without question. They still had no idea what they were really trying to do, but they knew that whatever they were chasing was deadly; it had almost killed the Doctor. Brittany knew from past experiences that it was very hard to kill the Doctor, so something that could injure him so easily was extremely worrying.

The Doctor still felt weak, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. There was too much at stake to let something as small as feeling a little bit tired slow him down. He was actually a lot tired, but he was denying it, even in his own mind. If the shade weren't caught, the whole planet of Sydoriv would be at risk. The Doctor did not want any more people to die if he could help it. He was the only one on the planet who knew how to stop a void creature. Blimey, he was the only one who could actually see it.

Without warning, the three fugitives were suddenly pushing through a dense crowd of people. Jana paused to check his watch.

"Lunch time," he said with a groan. "We won't be able to move quickly through his crowd."

The Doctor dug through his coat pocket, and withdrew a leather wallet. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said quietly, flapping his wallet in the inspector's face. "Watch and learn." Raising his voice, he shouted, "We're with the Central World Authority! Let us pass."

"What are you doing?" Jana hissed. "Impersonating a CWA officer will get you thrown in jail!"

Brittany nudged the inspector and gave him a look that said 'are you dumb or what?' "If you hadn't noticed, we're probably going to get thrown in jail anyway, so what does it matter?" she said. Jana frowned, but conceded defeat.

The Doctor ignored the argument going on behind his back, and instead flashed his psychic paper at the people nearest to him. At first, they gave him sceptical looks, but as soon as they saw what was inside the wallet, they backed out of the way. The Time Lord gave Jana a wink and continued through the crowd at a run, using his psychic paper to make a path. He was still following the trail left by the shade, but it had been broken up by the sheer amount of people that had walked through it. The shade wasn't actually that far ahead of him; every now and then he caught a glimpse of its dark green-red body.

The Doctor glanced back at the two humans pushing through the crowd after him, and waved for them to hurry up. When he looked back towards the way he was walking, the trail had disappeared. He paused in confusion, the wandered around in a little circle. Brittany watched as he crouched down, vanishing amongst the legs of the crowd. She pushed past a few people to discover that he was ripping a small grating out of the pavement, barely two feet across. She crouched down next to him just as he tucked a glass jar back in his pocket. He waved for Jana to come over.

"Our shade has gone down here," he said, pointing at the small hole in the ground.

"We're never going to fit down there," Jana stated simply.

Brittany sighed. "Captain Obvious strikes again," she muttered. Jana glared at her, but the Doctor ignored them both.

"We need to get back to the TARDIS. I'll be able to track the shade from there, and anyway, I think I need something to eat." Brittany grinned and took Jana by the arm.

"You're going to love this bit."

After Jana had been satisfied that the interior of the TARDIS was not a trick and was actually bigger on the inside, The Doctor had discarded his coat and begun fiddling with the console. The two humans sat on the only chair in the room, and watched with interest as the Time Lord busied himself setting up various pieces of equipment.

"Amazing isn't it?" Brittany whispered to Jana. "It's as beautiful as last time I saw it."

"You mean you've been in here before?" he said, staring at her in surprise.

She nodded. "Yeah. Four years ago. That was when I first met the Doctor." Brittany laughed quietly. "I never thought the first person I talked about the Doctor with would be a police officer, but life is unpredictable."

Jana smiled. "You've known this man for four years? How come you still look surprised by the things he does?"

"I met him four years ago, but only the once. I haven't actually seen him again since I first met him. Personally, I never thought I would see him again, but here we are."

The Doctor smiled to himself as he worked at the console. He had been alone for too long, and he knew it, but didn't want to befriend someone knew only to lose them again. It had been two months since he had lost Donna Noble; two long months since Davros and the daleks had been defeated and the universe saved from complete annihilation. He still hadn't gotten over the loss of Donna; still hadn't come to terms with what he had done to save her. The TARDIS had remained empty since then, except for one little trip with Jack Harkness. It had only lasted a week, and Jack had returned to Torchwood to continue saving Cardiff from all manner of disasters.

The Doctor shook his head sadly and set the glass jar from his pocket in a smooth depression on the TARDIS console.

He began unfolding equipment, flicking switches and turning knobs. Something that looked like a high tech version of a folding desk lamp unfurled easily in his hands, and he aimed it at the jar. However, instead of being a simple light, there was short spear-like piece of metal poking out of the contraption where the bulb should be.

He waved for Brittany and Jana to come over, and they both peered over his shoulder as he slipped his dark-rimmed glasses on. He readjusted the equipment one last time before jumping over to the screen.

"I can use the void stuff I trapped in that jar to track the shade," he said, pointing at the jar. "I just waved it through the air, and slapped the lid on. Jar of void stuff."

He pointed at the desk lamp shaped object. "That pointy device is a particle laser. When I turn it on, it should fire millions of high speed particles at the jar." He paused to scratch his head for a few seconds. "I haven't used it for years, and it wasn't really designed for this purpose. Should work though."

Jana frowned. "Should?"

The Doctor smiled. "Yeah. It has about a seventy-two percent chance of working," he said, turning back to the screen. "Anyway, when it hits the jar, it should increase the strength of the void stuff a hundred-fold." He held up a finger in front of Brittany. "And before you ask, that's a good thing."

With one last look at the screen, he flicked a switch and spun a couple of knobs, before hitting a large red button. The particle laser began to hum with power and a blue-green light began to pulse up and down the bronze spear-like length. A faint swirling golden mist started to appear within the jar, quickly brightening and thickening until it looked solid enough to touch.

The Doctor switched the laser off and grabbed the jar. He opened it up, sniffed the contents, and then stuck his finger in it. He nodded at Brittany to have a go. She plunged her finger into the jar, and it felt like she'd stuck her finger into icy cold honey. Her finger started to numb, so she withdrew it.

"It's like voidic jelly," the Doctor said as he upended it over a glass and bronze globe. The honey-like substance leaped inside the globe through a small opening in the top, which the Time Lord quickly snapped shut. He offered it to Brittany and she took it, holding it carefully in case she dropped it.

As she watched, the swirling golden fog folded around into impossible shapes. "That's beautiful," she breathed. "How does it work?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never done this before."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Brittany said with a frown.

"That I don't know how it works," the Doctor replied. "I know that it's a tracker, but I don't exactly know how it does that." He smiled widely. "Why don't we take it outside and see?"

Brittany shrugged, and walked towards the door, the globe cupped gingerly in her hands.

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**A/N: OOOO! The shade is being hunted now! What will happen next? Only time will tell! Unless I keep talking and tell everyone all the intimate details of my plotline, which would be impossible, because even i don't know what im doing, or if the Doctor tells you, because he obviously he knows what's going on, and Brittany, and Jana, and the shade and the great big.......mmmmfg...mfmmf (Noofle is gagged by the Doctor and dragged off before she can reveal anything else)**


	9. Another Day, Another Death

**A/N: To all you awesome people out there that are reading this story, I just have to say...you rock! Anyone one that submits a review will get a cookie of their choice. Please specify, or you'll just get chocolate chip, not that I have something against chocolate chip, I actually quite like chocolate chip, it's just that I might run out of chocolate chip if no one asks for other flavours. I have cookies with smiley faces on them...?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.......but I did own a (insert noun of your choice here), but Brittany, Captain Jack and the Doctor stole it and put it to their own diabolical uses. I don't know why I put up with those three...**

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**CHAPTER NINE: ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DEATH**

As soon as Brittany stepped foot outside, the golden mist inside the globe formed a lump on one side of the glass. It looked as if it was trying to force its way through the glass, like it was trying to get out. Jana peered at the globe.

"That's amazing," he said, inspecting the congealed deposit of void stuff.

"Isn't it just," the Doctor said, leaning against the TARDIS doorframe. He sighed and looked past the two humans at the basement he'd parked the TARDIS in. There was a lot of concrete; the walls, floor and ceiling were made out of it. A skimmer rack stood against one wall, however, only five vehicles were parked in it. The Doctor looked closer at the skimmers. It looked like there was someone sitting in one of the vehicles.

The Time Lord walked past where Brittany and Jana were experimenting with the tracker, and towards the occupied skimmer. He cupped his hands over the side window and peered inside. There was definitely someone in there, but the deeply tinted windows prevented any details from being seen. A quick rap on the window didn't produce a response, so either the person was ignoring him, or was injured in some way and couldn't respond.

The Doctor, willing to risk an angry outburst from the person within the skimmer, pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and held it against the door. After a couple of seconds there was a click, a hiss of escaping air, and the door swung upwards, almost catching the Doctor on the nose. He tucked the screwdriver away, and ducked his head to look inside the skimmer.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he breathed, running his hands through his hair. "I'm so sorry."

Inside the skimmer, draped over one of seats, was a man. Or, at least, what had once been a man. His skin was dried and withered, like old parchment, and what hair he had left was not white, but silver. The aged man's face was locked in an expression of horror, one of his emaciated hands still gripping the doorhandle, as if he was trying to escape, even in death.

Brittany and Jana looked up from the globe to see the Doctor crawling into the passenger seat of a skimmer. Curious, the two humans wandered over to see what he was up to. Jana recoiled in horror when he spotted the withered man, but Brittany couldn't tear her gaze away, horrified though she was.

"What happened to him?" she whispered, not daring to raise her voice. The Doctor gave her a sad look, but it quickly turned into one of fury.

"The voidic shade. That's what happened here," he growled, shaking his head angrily. "He was a young man, full of life and energy and vitality, but he was cruelly attacked, and this is all that's left." He turned back to the aged man, deep pity in his eyes.

"But what kind of creature could do such a thing?" Jana asked, struggling to keep cool and professional.

The Doctor replied without removing his gaze from the occupant of the skimmer. "A void creature. Their touch drains life, leaving just a withered corpse as the only memory of their passing." He backed out of the skimmer and stood up. "Stay here. I won't be a minute. Just need to grab something out of the TARDIS." Jana watched the Time Lord disappear back inside his blue box, before turning back to Brittany. She was staring at the withered man, her hands clenched into tight fists.

Jana wrapped his arm over her shoulders. "It's okay. The Doctor will take care of it," he said reassuringly, feeling a bit awkward to be in this position.

She didn't hear him. She was staring at the nametag pinned to the dead man's chest. With a slow deliberate motion, she reached out and gingerly removed the tag, gazing at it in disbelief. Printed in careful block letters across the top of the tag was a name. Saasha Knight.

Tears welled in Brittany's eyes, but she resolutely wiped them away. "We need to go right now," she hissed, shaking Jana's hand off her shoulder and marching towards the TARDIS. She slammed the door open, and stomped up the stairs, her feet clanging on the metal grating with each step.

"Doctor!" she shouted, grabbing his coat from where it lay, draped over one of the orange pillars that supported the ceiling.

"Doctor," she repeated, quieter this time. There was no response. Where was the Doctor? She edged around the console, brown overcoat still clutched in her hands. She spotted a door, and moved towards it, reasoning that if the Doctor hadn't heard her shouts, he must be somewhere else in his ship. There didn't seem to be any kind of doorhandle, so she held out her hands to push the doors open. There was a grunt from behind her, and she spun around to see the Doctor sitting on the chair in front of the console.

She strode towards him, slinging his coat over her shoulder. "Doctor, you will come with me this instant!" she yelled, but his only reply was another grunt. It was then she started to get suspicious, and she walked closer, wondering why the Doctor was ignoring her. It was at the moment he rolled his head around to face her, a soft snore escaping from his lips. Brittany paused, and raised her hand in the air, preparing to give him a slap to wake him up. However, she lowered her hand with a sigh, watching the alien's chest slowly rising and falling with each breath.

He looked so peaceful, as if there was no danger at all, no life-threatening monster on the loose. And yet, at the same time, he looked fragile and vulnerable, hands draped limply across the surface of the seat, legs dangling of the edge of his makeshift bed. Brittany draped the coat over the Time Lord, and he pulled it around himself like a blanket without waking up. She then turned on her heel and stalked out of the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor to his dreams.

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**A/N: *snore. snore* mmmmm...cookies. *snore. snore. yawn* Wha...? I was NOT talking in my sleep....(please tell me that no one recorded that)**


	10. Shady Dreams

**A/N: So, thanks to all you diligent readers out there, who put up with my strange ramblings and odd stories. An especially big thanks goes to all those cookie-worthy reviewers. Three big cheers for them! remember, you can still request cookies if you desire it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.....but I own a pen. It helps me write. I like my pen. _Watashi no pen ga sukidesu_. I like Japanese. _Nihongo ga sukidesu_. I'm odd. On the subject of Japanese, I have to say...._Watashi no roba ga sukidesu_. The funny thing is, I don't even own a donkey.**

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CHAPTER TEN: SHADY DREAMS

The Doctor yawned, and jammed his hands in his trouser pockets. He was walking down a fairly normal street, trying to work out where Jana and Brittany had gone. They had obviously left without him, but he didn't know why, or where they'd got to. He couldn't remember them leaving, which was strange in itself, as he usually had a good memory for details like that. He could remember leaving the TARDIS, but couldn't remember how he'd ended up walking along this street, which he didn't recognize at all.

Beautiful steel and glass skyscrapers rose up all around him, and at first glance they seemed like 38th century buildings, but when he looked again, there was something odd about them he couldn't put his finger on. The Doctor breathed deeply, and noted the fresh clean air. No smog or impurities whatsoever. And yet, he was walking through the middle of a city.

He gave a shrug, and started whistling. The street was empty, of both people and cars. In fact, now that he looked closer, there was actually one other person on the street, walking in his direction. Somehow, they looked familiar to him. It was a lady, with startling orange red hair.

The Doctor stopped whistling and let his mouth drop open in surprise. "Donna?"

The lady seemed to notice him from the first time. "Doctor?" There was no mistaking that voice. He was staring straight at Donna Noble, the temp from Chiswick, who, by all rights, shouldn't even know who he was. Hang on, what was she doing here?

His mouth dropped open further. "What?"

Peering at the glass globe in her hands, Brittany directed Jana to pull their skimmer out of the main flow of traffic. He followed her instructions, guiding the vehicle smoothly out between the last couple of skyscrapers. Now they were flying over a residential suburb, close to, but separated from, the tall modern buildings of the CBD. Three- or four-storey buildings dotted the space available between numerous plots of vegetation. Brittany looked at the tracking globe again. All the golden 'void stuff' was still clumped together, pressing against the side of the globe. It hadn't changed since she and Jana had begun driving. That seemed odd in itself; a Brittany thought that the shade would be moving around, searching for more victims. Like poor Saasha.

* * *

Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of Saasha. She hadn't known him that well, but he had been her only real friend at work. He had always seemed so lonely, sitting by himself all day in an office reading through masses of data and sheets upon sheets of printouts. She had taken him a coffee every time he was in the office; he spent most of his time out on site. Saasha had always been the quiet one, unwilling to speak out at meetings or voice his opinions to others. Now, he would never be able to speak or sing or laugh again.

It was all the Doctor's fault. The Doctor and his stupid rift and his stupid shade, and his whole stupid universe. Brittany had just managed to settle into a normal life again, having struggled to return to typical everyday existence after what had happened when she'd first met the Doctor at the Crusader Caves. Then, the Doctor decides to turn up again, and her nice little life is shattered. She had spent all this time looking for the Time Lord, but now, she isn't so sure that she wanted to find him after all.

But, then again, maybe it isn't his fault. He didn't mean for people to be killed. He was trying to prevent any more loss of life. Perhaps that's why he seemed so sad and lonely all the time. With all the suffering he had seen, and had to deal with, Brittany was surprised the Doctor hadn't gone mad.

Although, now she thought about it…

Maybe the madness was a technique to help him deal with his past. Laugh in the face of danger, live life at a high-speed pace and not dwell on what has happened in the past, and what might happen in the future. Live in the now, and try to save as many people as you can today, and not think about what may happen to them tomorrow.

The Doctor had to deal with all this on his own.

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No wonder he had such horrible nightmares.

* * *

"Donna!" the Doctor roared, struggling to reach the fiery-haired temp from Chiswick. The air around him felt so thick, as if it were trying to stop him form reaching his destination. He could see the shade leaping at Donna, knowing he was powerless to stop it, and the feeling broke his hearts. His feet were glued to the pavement, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move, forced to watch in mute horror as he lost the most amazing woman he had ever met once again.

He knew that this couldn't be real, for how could Donna possible be on a 38th century planet? And yet, even though he knew this was just a dream, a thought conjured up in his mind, it seemed so real, the pain of losing Donna still so raw. She was crying out for him, but all he could do was stand there and watch in silence, unable to save her, even in his dreams. She collapsed to the ground, withered and aged and crumpled, and only then was the Doctor released from his invisible prison, falling heavily to his knees. The shade stared straight at him, and gave a hiss that sounded disturbingly like a laugh.

The Doctor woke with a loud gasp, cold sweating drenching his face. He panted heavily, staring around at the interior of the TARDIS in shock. That dream, that nightmare, had been so much more substantial than his other dreams. Ever since he had been forced to wipe Donna's memories, his nights had been haunted by the red-haired child of London. As time went on, he had hoped the visions would fade, but they just grew stronger each day. After he had lost Rose to the parallel world, Martha had been able to help him get over his sadness, but this time, there was no-one.

The TARDIS felt so empty, the soft orange glow only serving to darken his mood even further. "Oh god, I miss Donna," he sighed, stroking his hand along the railing. "But there was nothing else I could do. She would have burned up, and it would have been my fault," he assured himself, worried by the wavering tone to his voice. He silently cursed himself, talking out loud even though there was no one else there to hear him. The TARDIS hummed loudly, as if she was trying to speak to him.

The Doctor slung his coat on over his shoulders and leant on the console. "I know, I know," he cooed softly, running his hands across the glimmering controls. "I have things to take care of right now. I can mope to my heart's content later on." He spun the screen around, and flicked a few switches. A view of the basement outside filled the screen, but Brittany and Jana were nowhere to be seen. They must of taken one of the skimmers and left, because he would have been able to feel it if they were inside the TARDIS.

"They always wander off," he muttered sadly. "Always." A slight grin graced his face. "That's what I love about humans. Curiosity killed the cat and all that." He pulled a lever and the screen returned to its normal display of spinning Gallifreyan symbols. "Right, now I just need to find out where you've got to. CCTV network should help me there."

* * *

"What's going on?" Brittany shouted, hanging onto the doorframe for dear life.

"I have no idea!" Jana answered, struggling to keep the bucking skimmer on course. "There must be something wrong with the engines, but all the read-outs say nothing is wrong."

The skimmer lurched to the side, and the glass globe slid out of Brittany's hands. She reached out to catch it, but her fingers only just brushed it. It shattered on the floor with a quiet tinkling sound, releasing the captured golden mist. The smoky gold swirled between her legs for a few seconds, before pressing itself flat against the floor.

Before she could work out the significance of that, the whole vehicle dropped a couple of metres in the air, and to Brittany it felt like she'd just left half her internal organs behind. The skimmer levelled out again and the contents of her stomach settled back into place.

Jana wrenched at the controls, trying to keep the bucking vehicle on course. "We're going to crash," he yelled, punching buttons and spinning knobs frantically.

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed," Brittany growled in reply, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She tightened her grip on the doorframe as the skimmer began to dive.

"I've lost the engines!" Jana pounded the controls desperately, trying not to show his panic. "I don't what happened, but I've lost the engines." Brittany squeezed her eyes shut, and waited for the impact.

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**A/N: Poor Doctor. I felt really sorry for the Doctor when he lost Donna, because, lets admit it, she was awesome! But, all good things have to come to an end, I guess. So the Doctor is being all haunted and troubled, while Brittany and Jana are involved in a high speed skimmer crash....what will happen next chapter?**


	11. Darkness and Life

**A/N: Bit of a lag in updates, but I ran out of chapters, and had to go write up another one. Oh, the horror! Still, all done now, with another two chapter written and ready to be added within the next couple of days. There are still cookies on offer for those who want them. I've given out hardly any cookies at all...I feel kind of unloved.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.....but I do own a jar of cookies. I think someone has stolen them though...**

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**CHAPTER ELEVEN: DARKNESS…AND LIFE**

Brittany slowly opened her eyes after thirty seconds had passed. Next to her, Jana was gazing out of the front window in surprise. "What the hell just happened?" Brittany muttered, almost, but not quite, under her breath. The intercom on the dashboard crackled, and both humans looked at it in surprise. A voice tutted loudly over the com system.

"Now, what do we have here? Two little runaways?" the Doctor said, and Brittany could just imagine the look on his face. A small half smile, with one of his eyebrows raised.

She laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Doctor!"

"The very same." The Time Lord made a show of clearing his throat. "This is your captain speaking. The weather outside is sunny, with the current temperature sitting at around thirty-one degrees Celsius. We will be landing in approximately ten seconds with the local time being 1.30 pm. Thank-you for choosing TARDIS airways. I hope you enjoyed your flight."

With an audible thump, the skimmer dropped the remaining thirty centimetres to the ground, the impact setting off the airbags.

"Is the universe out to get me or something?" Brittany muttered darkly, struggling with the door. She managed to push it open, and tumbled out onto the ground, dirt clinging to her clothing.

Looking up, she noticed that the TARDIS was sitting a mere twenty metres away, and the Doctor's long legs were quickly covering the short distance. There was a smile on his face, and he was wearing his silly 3D glasses again.

Then his smile faded, and he began to run towards her. He was shouting something frantically, but she quite make it out. She stood up with a shiver, her breath misting out in front of her. It was suddenly deathly cold, even though it was the middle of the day and the sun was at its zenith.

A hand that felt like a cold clammy fish grabbed her wrist, and she cried out in surprise. She couldn't pull away from her unseen assailant, and the longer it held onto her, the harder it became to see and think clearly. Her fingers numbed until she couldn't feel them anymore, and the world began to sway alarmingly.

Spots swam across her vision and she was close to losing consciousness, when the attack broke off, the hand releasing her. She swayed, and fell into the Doctor's waiting arms.

"You okay?" he asked, helping her to stand upright.

She used his shoulders to steady herself. "Yeah, I think so. A bit tired though."

"Nothing a good sleep won't fix," the Doctor said with a grin. He let Brittany support herself and handed her the 3D glasses. She put them on, and jumped in surprise. There was a faint golden mist. It was around the skimmer, and swirling between her legs. The Doctor pointed over her shoulder.

"That's the shade," he said.

Brittany quickly spotted it, a dark shape amid a maelstrom of gold. It was bipedal, with two legs and two arms, but it sat hunched over, all four limbs on the ground. It was smaller than she had expected, with long sinewy muscles and stick thin legs. It's legs bent backwards like a dog's, and ended in a foot similar to a camel's, with two wide flat toes. It had two fingers and a thumb on each hand, and a smooth, globular head. Its skin was a mottling of red and green, but the distribution of colours was constantly changing. There were no visible facial features, but Brittany still got the impression that it was staring at her. She handed the glasses back to the Doctor with a shudder.

"Why doesn't it attack us?" she asked him.

He grinned again, and showed her what looked like a plastic pistol. "I shot it with this, and he didn't like it," the Doctor said, checking his ammunition. "Water pistol. Always carry it with me. Don't' know why."

Jana flopped out of the skimmer, having finally fought his way free of the airbags. He stood up and brushed himself off, pretending the other two hadn't seen his undignified exit.

Brittany turned back to the Doctor. "You shot it with water?"

"Yup. Good old water," he replied, watching the shade warily. "A shade is pretty much a destroyer of life. One touch, and it sucks all the energy out of a living creature. Water, however, is practically the source of life. It's the opposite of the shade, so, it hurts it. Don't know why I didn't think of it earlier."

Brittany smiled. "Sometimes you're too smart for your own good," she said, amused when the Doctor looked pleased by this comment. Then she frowned. "But what about rain? When you bumped into me yesterday, it was raining. I assume you were chasing the shade."

"Sometimes _you_are too smart for your own good," the Doctor said with a laugh. "You assumed correctly. Rain isn't pure. It's got all kind of muck and microorganisms in it. All kind of life the shade can use for energy. I shot the shade with water filtered through the TARDIS. Absolutely no impurities whatsoever. Completely clean."

"So, you shot it with distilled water?" Jana asked, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"Do you have a problem with that?" the Doctor said, locking the inspector with a steely glare.

Jana recoiled away from the Time Lord. "No, I –"

"Good. Let's keep it that way," the Doctor said, kicking the skimmer without warning. "You're a bad pilot along with a rubbish jumper."

"It was broken," Jana insisted, annoyed with the Doctor's rudeness. He had seemed charming before, sure, he was completely mad, but he did it in a charming way. This, it was like seeing another side of him. Back in the interrogation chamber, the Doctor had acted like he knew exactly what he was doing, and managed to keep Jana slightly off-guard with his confidence. Now, he was just being downright rude.

"Right," the Doctor said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and scanning it along the length of the vehicle. "No machinery faults, but this is quite interesting." He waved for the two humans to come over for a look. "Have a look at this." He pointed at the nose of the skimmer, indicating the deep scorings and scratches in the metal nose of the vehicle. "It looks like you may have had an unwanted passenger."

"The shade?" Brittany glanced over her shoulder at the creature behind her.

The Doctor nodded at her. "Seems like it can affect machinery as well as living things." He looked at Jana with a frown. "As son as your vehicle started malfunctioning, why didn't you land? It would have made this whole problem a lot easier."

Jana shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know?" the Doctor asked, scanning his screwdriver up and down the inspector.

"I just didn't!"

The Doctor tucked his screwdriver away after a few more seconds of scanning, with a knowledgeable nod. "Just as I thought. An idiot."

For Jana, that was the last straw. "Alright Doctor, this is your last warning! I've put up with your games long enough. I want the truth and I want it now!"

The Doctor folded his arms. "Too bad, 'cause I ain't telling."

"Doctor," Brittany said warningly.

The Time Lord poked his tongue out impudently.

"Stop acting like a child," she said grumpily, frowning at the Doctor like you would a little kid.

"You can't make me," he replied, showing more interest in the water pistol clasped in his hand. He spun it around with a flourish before putting it back in his pocket. "I can do what I want, and neither you, nor the notorious Captain Jack can make me do otherwise."

"Listen to me Doctor-"

"No, Brittany. You listen. I'll not have you, or any other human tagging along and telling me what to do."

"You're blowing this way out of proportion," Jana said, trying to calm the Doctor down, his earlier annoyance forgotten.

"I think it's completely in proportion," the Doctor said pointedly. "It's just your view on – yow!" He massaged the side of his face. A hand shaped welt was beginning to form, and it took the Doctor a couple of second to realise that Brittany had just slapped him. She raised her hand for another strike, and he flinched. She lowered her hand.

"Doctor, you have to understand that we're here to help," she said, tucking her hands I her pockets where they could do no more harm. "If you need to talk about something, you just need to ask. I'm sure we could help."

The Doctor sighed, and suddenly he looked frail, various emotions battling to take control of his face. The moment lasted for only a second; as he was almost immediately back to his normal self, not showing his inner feelings. "Maybe later," he murmured so quietly that Brittany had to strain her ears to catch it. "Right now we have a planet to save."

He turned around to confront the shade, only to discover that it wasn't there any more. "Oh," he said, scanning the area. "Where's it go?" He spotted a golden trail leading off towards a series of low buildings he could only just make out. They were the same buildings he had been looking at earlier today, and knew that the shade was making its way towards the mine.

"Come on," he said, ushering Jana and Brittany into the TARDIS. "We've got to stop that shade, before it does any more damage." Brittany let Jana go first, and as she entered after him, she whispered to the Doctor, so quietly that only the Time Lord would hear, "We'll talk later, okay?"

His lips tightened, but he made no comment, instead closing the door, and turning his back on Brittany to fiddle with the controls.

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**A/N: The Doctor is a troubled man (sorry, alien). Yeah, well, moving on. I gotta finise this story some time soon, so I can move onwards in my series. The second episdoe has a strange storyline, but it has been fun to write.**


	12. Discussion

**A/N: Hello faithful reader. (As every ramble must start.) Sorry for the long gap between updates. I've been kinda busy and unmotivated, and this chapter has been sitting around unloved for a week and a half. It looked lonely, so I gave in and uploaded it. It'll probably take me a while to write the next chapters. Normally I stay about five chapters in advance, but I was distracted by..umm, writing the next stories in my series, titled "Snowglobe" and watching the X-Files. So, yeah. Ignore my ramble, and read on. I hope you enjoy my relatively boring chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.....but I do own some banana flavoured lollies. Yum. Not as good as cookies though, if anyone still wants them.**

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**CHAPTER TWELVE: DISCUSSION**

On the surface, the mine appeared to be little more than a series of building arrayed in a large semi-circle, but beneath the ground, it sprawled for many miles, stretching out in all directions. There was a groaning as the TARDIS materialised between two of the surface buildings, and once it stopped, the Doctor, Brittany and Jana stepped out of the door. The Doctor had taken off his 3D glasses, deciding that he might attract undue attention, and his human companions had been relieved when the Time Lord made that decision.

Brittany led the way towards one of the buildings, listening with amusement as the Doctor tried to explain what they were going to next. He was failing miserably, leaving the two humans, Jana in particular, hopelessly confused.

"Alright, I understand that we have to take care of both the shade and the rift, but can you go back and explain exactly how we're going to do that?" Jana said tiredly.

The Doctor, equally tired of this conversation, sighed heavily. "I have to reverse the magnetic polarity of the rift, which will make it out of existence," he said slowly, trying to fit the idea into Jana's head. "To do that, I'll need a good dosage of pure dihydrogen oxide, and some good old radiation."

Brittany and Jana frowned at each other. "What?" they said simultaneously.

"I'm going to make the rift collapse in on itself," the Doctor explained, in his talking-to-humans voice.

"Really?" Brittany asked.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "No, I'm going to make it a cup of tea. What do you think?"

"Sorry," Brittany muttered grumpily, sticking her hands in her pockets. "Didn't realise that I was being a dumb human again."

"No, no. It's not like that," the Doctor insisted apologetically, silently cursing himself. He hadn't meant to come across as rude, but he was just so used to travelling by himself that he didn't even think about the feelings of the people around him. Well, he was normally to busy running for his life to bother about being courteous, but he thought he should at least try to make an effort from now on.

"Yeah, I'm sure it isn't," Brittany growled, reaching out for the door to the building they'd be heading towards. The Doctor immediately leapt in front of her, and opened the door with a smile. She only rolled her eyes, and stalked inside. "That doesn't make up for anything, alien."

The Doctor winced at the insult, but let it pass. Jana gave him a sympathetic look as he walked inside. Bringing up the rear, the Doctor carefully closed the door, and followed the two humans across the foyer. Brittany led them down a side passage, away from the visitor's area. They passed a series of rooms filled with lockers, which the Doctor suspected would be filled with worker's clothing. The floor was made of plascrete, which seemed to be the norm for this planet, weird though it was.

The corridor ended in a security checkpoint, where a single security guard was staring lazily at the computer screen in front of him. Brittany pulled a card from her pocket, Jana pulled a wallet from his jacket, and the Doctor grabbed his psychic paper from his coat pocket. He pushed in front of the humans, and caught the guard's attention with a wave.

"I'm inspector Smith," he said, flashing the psychic paper at the guard, "and this is inspector Piwanski." Jana showed the guard his identification. The Doctor smiled at Jana before continuing. "We're here to investigate the disappearances."

The guard tried to look innocent, but failed miserably. "I haven't heard about any disappearances."

The Doctor gave him a wink. "And neither have we," he said in a conspiratal tone. "All we want to do is have a good look around, if that's alright with you."

The guard looked uncomfortable, and kept giving the Doctor strange looks, but shrugged and keyed a command into the computer anyway. "Sure," he said, not actually sure he wanted to let these people into the mine. Then he pointed at Brittany. "But who's she?"

"I work here," she said darkly, holding up the identification card she had pulled from her pocket. "Brittany Harvey."

"Oh," the guard said sheepishly. "You're that girl that likes to blow things up."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Blow things up?" he whispered quietly to Jana. The inspector rewarded his with a shrug followed by a blank look.

"Girl?" Brittany said, practically spitting the word. The Doctor, acting to prevent an imminent confrontation, grabbed her by the arm, and hauled her down the corridor without a second thought. Jana quickly thanked the guard, and followed the pair.

"Why am I not surprised that you like to blow things up?" the Doctor asked as he set off down the passage.

"It's just a job," Brittany insisted. "It's not like I go around blowing up things for a hobby, is it?"

The Doctor nodded at a passing worker, but frowned at Brittany. "You really need to see a psychologist."

"And you don't?" she retorted.

He pointed at himself with a smile. "Me? I'm only self-destructive. You, on the other hand, are dangerous."

She snorted in reply, but refrained from saying anything she might regret. The Doctor let her remain silent. The conversation had been going in a direction he hadn't really wanted it to go. There were some things he didn't want to talk about, and his mental health was one of them.

He cast that matter aside, and instead focused on the matter at hand. He had to close that rift, which was a simple enough task. Destroying a rift was easy, and he already had enough water to do it inside his little water pistol. The hard thing to find was radiation. If worst came to worst, he could always stick his hand into the rift, and use the radiation he'd picked up from time travelling. The only problem with that idea is that when the rift collapsed, it might suck his hand in with it, and he really didn't want that to happen. That would just ruin a perfectly nice day. Well, an all right day.

"Hey Doctor?" Brittany said suddenly. "You know what you were saying before about closing the rift?"

"Yeah…"

"What about the shade? You said there would be no chance of the rift closing if we didn't get the shade first," Brittany pointed out.

The Doctor scratched his head. "I said that didn't I? Well, I kind of lied."

"Kind of?" Jana asked.

The Doctor nodded as he walked through a door, ducking under the low-slung frame. "If I close the rift, one of two things is going to happen. Either the shade will wink out of existence once its link to the void is severed, or the rift will just re-open again." He shrugged and closed the door behind the two humans. "Although, when the shade ran away from the crash site, I think it was coming back here to protect the rift. But no pain, no gain; you just have to take risks."

They all stepped into an elevator, and Jana activated the mechanism.

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**A/N: Hooray. Just a chapter to move the story along. The end is in sight now. I just want to finish this story, so I can uploading Snowglobe. I like Snowglobe more than this one. And don't ask, because I ain't gonna mention a thing about it. You'll just have to wait for my little Next Time thing. Okay...so loong faithful viewer (as every commentary must end).**


	13. Heart of Gold

**A/N: A double update for all you people out there. All, what, three of you? Well, the three people that review my story on a regular basis. I just have to make this comment in regard to a review I received from Time Lady 802379. What would the Doctor do if he lost a hand, and wasn't able to grow a new one. Would he go get a high-tech futuristic prosthetic? Or would he get an old-fashioned hook, and walk around saying yar and drinking rum? Lets just hope he doesn't lose his hand. I think a pirate Doctor would be a bit disturbing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who...but I think my mind has gone on temporary vacation. Indefinate temporary vacation.**

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: HEART OF GOLD

The wide steps up to the entrance of the Regulation Offices, the seat of power for the CWA, were far too steep by half in Kyle Larson's opinion. He was all too familiar with those stairs; he spent half the day going up and down them, carrying message at the whim of paranoid politicians, who all seemed to believe that their phone lines were bugged.

Today, he had an important message for Councillor Ansyn Gregory, probably the most paranoid of the lot. He was reputed to be a cruel and callous man, even more so of late. Kyle ran blindly through the revolving doors, dodging through the throng of people in the lobby of the government offices as best as he could. He made a misstep and ran into a secretary, knocking the pile of heavy books out of her hands. She shouted obscenities at him as he ran past her and took the stairs two at a time.

It wasn't good to keep a councillor waiting; it generally put them in a bad mood. However, when Kyle was admitted to Councillor Ansyn's private office, he was met by a man with a friendly disposition and charming smile.

"Tea?" the councillor inquired, pouring himself a drink. Kyle shook his head in a negative, struggling to regain his breath. Ansyn let the messenger compose himself, before querying him about the nature of his business. "So, what brings you here?"

"I bring a message from the mine," Kyle told the councillor. "From a security guard stationed there."

Ansyn raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Please tell me more."

Kyle recounted in detail the facts the guard had given him. "Barely fifteen minutes ago councillor, the guard said he saw a large blue box just appear on his security monitor."

"Just like that?"

"Apparently so, sir. He said the man the warrant was out for, the Doctor, stepped out of the box. This Doctor then passed the security booth, claiming to 'inspector Smith.' His identification was absolutely perfect sir, with no way to tell it apart from a real CWA ID card."

"Did the guard detain this 'Smith,'" Ansyn asked, stirring his tea. He was secretly pleased by this news. So far, the Doctor had managed to avoid capture, but the man couldn't run forever.

Kyle shook his head. "No councillor. The Doctor was accompanied by two others, and the officer didn't believe that he would be able to overpower them all."

Ansyn nodded. "I'll send the message for two military squads to move to capture the Doctor and his accomplices." He paused to take a sip from his teacup. "But before you leave, I just want to ask something. Did the security guard you a description of the Doctor's two companions?"

"Yes sir. One was a lady who works at the mine. Goes by the name of Brittany Harvey. She works with explosives." Ansyn waved for him to continue. "The second was a man, who the Doctor referred to as inspector Piwanski. I checked the record sir. He's one of ours."

Ansyn spilt his tea down his shirt. He swore, partly at the spillage, but mainly about Kyle's last comment. "The traitor!"

Kyle shuffled his feet nervously, not really wanting to be in the same room as the councillor any more.

"I'll need to take care of this little problem," Ansyn growled, rising out of his chair. "But first…" He turned to look at Kyle, and the messenger could see the madness in his eyes.

Kyle started to back away towards the door. "I have to go now," he stuttered, hands stretched out behind him, groping for the doorknob.

The councillor smiled humourlessly. "Oh, I don't think you will be going anywhere soon. We've only just met after all." He crossed the room with a single leap, and rammed the messenger up against the wall, teeth bared in a cruel grin. "I was just getting to know you."

Kyle swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "I really must be going now," he stammered, leaning his head as far away from Ansyn as he could. The councillor pressed him harder into the unyielding surface of the wall.

"You are going nowhere," the councillor snarled, his face uncomfortably close to Kyle's. "I'm so very hungry."

"Who are you?" Kyle whispered, sure that whatever he was in the room with was not the councillor.

Ansyn smiled, and drew one hand back. A globule of golden glowing energy blossomed out from his palm to form a bubble around his hand. "Let's just say, I'm not from around this parts, shall we?"

Before Kyle could react, the hand was streaking towards his chest, trailing its nimbus of gold and orange energy.

The guards standing outside the door heard the scream, but neither was willing to go and investigate. Councillor Gregory could be a ruthless man, and getting on his bad side was a really bad thing to do. And asking too many questions would definitely earn you a one-way ticket to the councillor's bad side.

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**A/N: Aaaand..that's chapter 13 for ya. Always gotta make something bad happen in chapter 13. Anyway, double update, so you can start reading the next chapter straight away. Hooray! And thanks for all your reviews. It makes me feel happy when my email inbox practically forms a mob and comes after me with torches and pitchforks. **


	14. Disaster

**A/N: Here is chapter fourteen. That means only about, oh, three chapters to go on this story. After that, you'll get Snowglobe. I'm going to go back on my word of not saying anything about it, and reveal that UNIT is in it, and there is a little bit of Cap'n Jack as well. I'm going to say any more though. That's more than enough information to leave you hanging off a cliff.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who....but do own some chocolate. No, hang on. I ate it all. *sob***

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**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: DISASTER**

The Doctor, blissfully unaware of the danger he was about to be in, was whistling a merry tune. It was sending Brittany and Jana out of their minds, and both humans had asked him to stop, but he simply refused to listen. The Doctor was currently in control of the situation, and that was how he preferred things. Brittany was leading the way down the tunnel and was, at the Doctor's instruction, heading towards the area that had the highest rate of power outages. A rift required phenomenal power to open and sustain, and that power had to come from somewhere. For the rift to be drawing power out of the main electricity grid for the mine was perfectly plausible.

And, still believing himself to be complete control, the Doctor was therefore surprised when Brittany and Jana clamped their hands over his mouth and dragged him down a side passage. He started to protest, but Brittany held a finger to her lips, and pressed him flat against the wall.

Now that he was being quiet, the Doctor could make out the sounds of footsteps and voices coming closer. A troop of soldiers marched through the tunnel they had been standing in barely seconds ago. Both the Doctor and his human companions held their breath until the soldiers had passed.

"I'd bet my ridiculous government salary that those soldiers were here looking for us," Jana said when they started off.

The Doctor nodded. "I would too, if I had any money to bet."

"I wish I had a ridiculous government salary," Brittany muttered, mainly to herself.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, listening carefully for the sound of approaching footsteps. Then the Doctor motioned for everyone to stop. "Can you feel that?" he asked, holding his arm outstretched. "That coldness?"

Jana nodded after a couple of seconds of silence. "Yeah," he said. "But what does it mean?"

"We're here," the Doctor said with a smile, dashing off down the corridor. Brittany and Jana followed with barely a moment's hesitation, so used to the Doctor's actions by now. The Time Lord made sure he ran slow enough for the humans to keep up. Sometimes he missed Captain Jack. That man could keep up with him no matter how fast he ran.

The Doctor spotted the end of the tunnel almost too late, and he came to an immediate standstill right on the lip of the tunnel's terminus. He snapped his arms out to the side to stop Brittany and Jana from falling straight into the immense cavern in front of them. It had to be at least two hundred metres wide, and probably that same distance from top to bottom.

Jana gave a low whistle at the sheer size. "That is massive," he said, staring out across the colossal chamber.

"And look at this," the Doctor said, stretching his hand out into the chamber. A faint black shimmer, limned with gold, formed around his hand, shifting whenever he wiggled his fingers. He withdrew his hand and shook it vigorously to ease the numbness. Brittany started to reach out, but he held her arm back. "Don't," he told her. "It's too cold for humans, no offence meant."

She shrugged. "None taken."

It was Jana that asked the big question. "So," he said. "What do we do now?"

The Doctor looked at the chamber sadly. "We destroy it."

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"Get out of my sight!" Ansyn roared at the messenger in front of him, slamming his fists down on his desk. The messenger couldn't get away fast enough, and covered the ten metres to the door in under two seconds.

Once the door had slammed shut, Ansyn rose to his feet. They were incompetent fools. How could three people avoid two highly trained squadrons of soldiers? It was just plain idiocy. When his soldiers returned, he was going to have them fired, and thrown out onto the streets without a moment's thought. Right now though, he needed the Doctor, alive preferably, but dead would work just as well. And, if no one else on this entire mudball of a planet could do it, he would just have to go out there himself.

Scooping his coat off the floor, he strode to the door and flung it open, marching off down the corridor without even telling his two personal guards where he was going.

They watched him go, but didn't dare ask what he was doing. The two guards just looked at each other, and came to the unspoken agreement that they would pretend this never happened. They both snapped back to attention, remaining that way until they were relieved at the end of their shift.

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Dark-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, the Doctor examined as much of the rift as he could. He wrinkled his nose in annoyance and tucked his glasses away. "This rift is ready to open," he said, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Open? What do you mean by that? Isn't it already open?" Brittany rattled off, prodding the Doctor forcefully in the shoulder.

He rubbed absently at the injury. "The thing you have to understand about rifts is that once they actually open, they only way to close them is to eliminate whatever opened them in the first place. But this rift here." He pointed at the cavern. "It's still in the primary stage."

"And that means…" Brittany prompted.

"That I can still close it from here," the Doctor explained. "When it initially came into existence, there must have been enough energy to let the shade through, but after that, it went into some sort of hibernation. But, once enough energy builds up, it'll open again, and then there'll be no stopping it."

"That's encouraging," Jana muttered.

The Doctor smirked. "That's what I do best. But don't worry. I do know how to close it."

"Yeah, water and radiation," Brittany supplied. "You said that before. Where are you going to get radiation from though?"

"I have the water, which is half the problem solved," the Doctor said, chucking his water pistol to Jana. "Hold that, would you." He then raised his hand in the air, and waggled the fingers a bit. "And this is my radiation."

Brittany frowned. "What, are you some kind of radioactive sludge monster?"

"No," the Doctor said, happily ignoring her insult. "I'm a time traveller. Which means that, like a sponge soaks up water, I've soaked up bucket loads of a certain type of radiation that is a side effect of time travel." Seeing the two human's identical expressions, he quickly reassured them. "It's completely harmless. Look at me! No side effects whatsoever."

Brittany looked at his inane grin disbelievingly. "What about us?" she asked, pointing at herself and Jana. "Are we safe?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said, dismissing the question with the wave of a hand. "You and Jana only picked up the tiniest little bit during your trip in the TARDIS."

"What!" Brittany exclaimed. "You mean you exposed us to radiation!"

"No, well, yes, but hold on." The Doctor gave her a very serious stare. "It's harmless. My ship uses it to fly, and I've been flying through time for hundreds of years, and it hasn't hurt me."

"Yeah, but you're a Time Lord alien thingy. We're humans," Brittany pointed out, gesturing at herself.

The Doctor sighed. "It doesn't affect humans. I can assure you of that."

Jana held up his hands. "Right, okay. Can we just get rid of this rift? If it opens, the whole world will be at risk."

"Yes, okay. Good," the Doctor said. "That's what we'll do."

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**A/N: Finally building up to a climax (I hope). Almost done now. We're on the home stretch. Bring on Cap'n Jack!**


	15. Realisation

**A/N: The whole pirate thing has been whirling around in my head, and I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who......................but I like full stops.**

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**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: REALISATION**

"So, what are you waiting for?" Brittany asked impetuously when the Doctor hesitated.

He looked wistfully at his hand. "I'm just worried it'll suck my hand off," he sniffed. "I'm quite attached to my hand. If I lost my hand, what would I do then?"

Brittany stared at him. "Can't you work that out afterwards? The entire world is at stake here!"

"If I only had one hand, I wouldn't be able to save the universe as easily. What would I do then? Retire? The universe would fall into chaos without me," he continued, oblivious to Brittany's exasperated looks. "I could always get a pirate hook. That'd be cool. Then I'd actually have a good reason to run around drinking rum. And I'd get to say 'yar' a lot." He gave Brittany a grin. "That'd be fun. Yar."

He glanced at the water pistol in his right hand, and wiggled the fingers of his left one more time before taking a step towards the rift. However, he never had a chance to reach out with his hand, as just at that moment, something told him that he needed to step to the left. The Doctor always trusted the little voices inside his head, so he dove to his left. He was almost too late, and the shade's fingers brushed across his shoulder blade, leaving searing cold in their wake.

The floor of the tunnel was very solid, and the Doctor landed on it was a loud thump. He staggered back to his feet, just in time to dive out of the way of the shade's second attack. "Don't just stand there you idiots!" he roared at the two humans standing barely five metres away as he dodged the shade's swinging arm. "Do something!"

Brittany looked around for a suitable weapon, and decided that a piece of the wood shoring up the tunnel wall would make a perfect club. A quick yank removed it from the wall, and she swung it with amazing accuracy. It caught the shade across the back of the head, sending the creature flying down the passageway.

The Doctor stumbled over to her, his right arm hanging limply at his side. He prodded at it weakly. "I can't feel the whole right side of my body," he moaned, sounding like he was complaining about tripping over rather than a serious injury.

The shade was getting back to its feet, and both the Doctor and Brittany avoided it when it charged straight at them. It ran at Brittany with a hiss, and she knocked it to the side with her piece of wood.

Jana wasn't watching the battle. He was staring at the water pistol he'd just picked up off the ground, from when it was knocked out of the Doctor's hand. "Radiation," he muttered. "He's infected all of us with it."

"Brittany!" the Doctor cried, as the shade knocked his legs out from underneath him. "Watch out!" The shade continued past the stricken Time Lord, bounding straight at Brittany. She swung her wooden club, but the shade anticipated the attack, and ducked underneath the swing.

"Oh, that was clever," she managed to say before the shade caught her legs and tackled her to the ground. She slammed down hard on her back, head hanging out over the open space of the cavern behind her. Her wooden club tumbled away down the walls of the cavern, clattering far out of her reach.

The Doctor struggled to get back to his feet, but his legs weren't responding to his commands. He swore vehemently in Gallifreyan, and started to drag himself across the floor with his good arm. "You are not going to take her from me," he growled, watching as the shade reared up above Brittany, preparing to finish her off.

Jana watched the battle play out emotionlessly. He was waiting for the right moment, and here it was. The Doctor turned to see Jana starting to sprint towards the shade.

"No!" the Time Lord roared, not moving fast enough to stop the inspector. "No, you can't!"

Jana spared one glance for the Doctor. "I'm sorry Doctor, but it's the only way," he shouted, not pausing in his mad dash towards the rift. He managed to fire off two shots from the water pistol before he grabbed the shade around the waist and dragged it over the tunnel edge. Brittany rolled over and watched as the two, arms wrapped tightly around each other, fell down into a maelstrom of conflicting lights and colours. The Doctor, half-stumbling, half-running, made it to the edge in time to see Jana and the shade enveloped in a glowing nimbus of golden light. Jana gave the Doctor one last forlorn look, before both he and the shade disappeared in a blinding flash of orange light.

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**A/N: Cliffhanger. That's all I have to say.**


	16. Crisis Averted

**A/N: Thanks for all your great reviews guys. Almost done now!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.....but I watch it _FAR_ too much.**

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN: CRISIS AVERTED

Golden tendrils clawed out from the centre of the cavern, spreading across the entire surface of the rift. Deep blackness, so colourless that it could not possibly be found anywhere with the slightest hint of light, appeared at the exact epicentre of the rift in space-time. Faster than the eye could follow, be that human or Time Lord, the darkness exploded across the whole inter-dimensional rift, revealing the first glimpse of the void that any still living creature has ever seen.

The Doctor, holding onto Brittany's shoulders for support, was in awe. He had never felt so small in his entire life. The void seemed to stretch on forever, an infinite and lightless universe with no concept of direction. It filled his entire world for those few seconds that it was visible, occupying every corner of his mind.

It felt so cold, even though there was no physical feeling coming from that alternate universe. The entire void was roiling with shapes so grotesque that the mind did not want to define them. There were numerous scaly wings, spiny limbs and glowing eyes, but the Doctor could not fit any of the individual parts together to form a whole creature. His mind simply refused to complete the task.

At the centre of this maelstrom of surging creatures were two shapes, so far away, but within reaching distance at the same time. One was the voidic shade; almost invisible as it returned to the lightless environment that was its home. The other, the only pinpoint of colour against a darkness so profound that even light could not escape it, was Jana, tumbling further away from the link to the physical universe, buffeted by cruel voidic winds. As he was blown ever further away, the colour leached from his clothing, the lightless nature of the void draining anything that was not physically possible within the realm of darkness.

Gold light boiled like fire along the edges of the rift, creeping inwards to obscure the view of the voidic universe. The rift collapsed in on itself, twisting the strands of gold and black together until it looked nothing more than a giant piece of crumpling paper. Then that too, was gone, a wisp of golden light that soon faded away the only remnant of its passing.

The Doctor and Brittany remained at the end of the tunnel for several minutes, in silent mourning for Jana, who had leapt into the void without a second thought. He had saved the entire world from being destroyed by the horrors that the Doctor and Brittany had glimpsed for but a few seconds.

With unspoken consent, the two small figures turned away from the site of the rift, and walked off down the passage, Brittany helping the injured Doctor hobble down the tunnel.

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"No!" Ansyn screamed, perched at the top of the steps that lead up to the Regulation Offices. "No, you can't!" He wailed in terror, hands clamped over his ears. Dozens of people were passing him, but they didn't dare do anything. They knew the Councillor Gregory by reputation, and wanted nothing to do with him. "You promised me so much!" he cried, directing his voice to the sky.

"You failed me," a voice roared, the sum of all the raw power in the universe. Ansyn moaned, and held his hands over his ears tightly, but he couldn't block out that voice. It was echoing straight into his mind, without even passing through his ears. It was directed only at him, all the anger of an entity so vast that it spread across a thousand universes.

"I tried," Ansyn said, his voice deteriorating into racking sobs. "I couldn't do it."

"You are worthless. You are scum. You are nothing!"

Ansyn cowered under the pure fury in the voice. "Please," he whispered hoarsely. "Please have mercy."

"You lost that right long ago." The entity left his mind, leaving Ansyn cold and empty.

With a sigh, he crumpled to the ground, dead before he hit the pavement.


	17. A New Friendship

**A/N: Please excuse any typos. I typed this up at super speed. I really wanted to finish it. Finally done!**

**Disclaimer: I don't Doctor Who....why would I want to? It's awesome as it is!!**

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**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A NEW FRIENDSHIP**

Sally was sitting on the couch in her living room when Brittany knocked on the door. Without even waiting for her flatmate to open the door, she burst inside and charged down the hall to her room. The Doctor followed at a more sedate pace, wincing with pain every time he took a step. He sat himself down on the couch next to Sally without a moment's hesitation. He gave her a wide grin.

"Hello," he said, still smiling. "You don't mind if I grab something to eat, do you?" He pointed at the fruit bowl on the coffee table in front of him. She shrugged. "Thanks. I'm famished."

Sally watched him attempt to peel the banana with one hand for a while, before snatching it, and peeling it for him. He smiled sheepishly, and took a bite from the fruit.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Sally asked at last.

"I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord replied through a mouthful of banana. "We spoke on the phone yesterday."

Sally frowned. "We did?" Then she snapped her fingers. "Oh yes. You were asking for Brittany, weren't you?"

The Doctor swallowed another mouthful of banana. "Yep. That's me."

Brittany popped her head into the room for a few seconds. "Doctor, do you think I'll need my scarf and beanie?"

"Better bring them, just in case," he replied, turning back to Sally after Brittany had left. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Mind what?" Sally asked, staring at the fruit bowl.

"Didn't she tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"That's she's leaving Sydoriv."

Sally shrugged. "It's about bloody time." She saw the Doctor's surprised expression. "She's been talking about leaving for a very long time. Does that mean you have a spaceship?"

"Yep," the Doctor said with a grin. "My TARDIS."

"Never heard of that type before," Sally said. "Is it an old model?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. "It may be a couple of hundred years out of date, but it still works."

Brittany walked back into the room, two heavy suitcases in her hands. She dropped them on the floor, and walked back down the hall. The Doctor finished his banana in silence, wondering whether bringing Brittany along in the TARDIS was actually a good idea.

"You're an alien, aren't you?"

The Doctor stared at her slack-jawed. "I'm sorry?"

"You're a bit skinny for an alien."

The Doctor patted his stomach fondly. "I'm not skinny. I'm just thin."

"Ahah!" Sally exclaimed, punching the air. "So you are an alien!"

"Yes, okay. I am an alien." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "How did you guess?" He held up a finger. "Wait, Brittany told you, didn't she?"

Sally smiled. "Yeah. I never believed her though. May I?" She pointed at his chest. He shrugged, and dug the stethoscope out of his pocket, chucking it to her. She listened to his heart with a grin.

"Oh, now that's creepy," she said, handing the medical equipment back to the Doctor. Then she looked at him sternly. "No abandoning her on strange alien planets, okay?"

The Doctor pressed a hand to his chest. "Cross my hearts and hope to die," he said seriously. The two looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

They were still in hysterics when Brittany walked back into the room, her last few bags tucked under her arms. She dropped her gear on the floor and stared at the Doctor and Sally, who were still completely oblivious to her presence. She began tapping her foot impatiently.

The Doctor was the first to notice her standing in the doorway. He clamped his mouth shut, and gave her a very sheepish smile. "Umm, hello?"

"You two done?" she asked, grabbing her suitcases, and walking towards the front door, slamming it on her way out. The Doctor and Sally looked at each other again, but refrained from laughing this time. Sally grabbed the last of Brittany's bags, and followed the Doctor as he hobbled out of the door.

As soon as they stepped into the sunlight outside, Brittany snatched her bags out of Sally's hands, ferrying them off to the TARDIS, which was parked across the street. The Doctor started to limp across the street, but Sally grabbed his shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked, obviously worried about his wellbeing.

He shook her hand off. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, patting her on the shoulder with his good hand. "It'll wear off. A good sleep, that's all I need."

Sally looked at him dubiously. "If you're sure," she said. He started off across the road again, but she held him back for a second time.

He looked at her impatiently. "What is it now?" he grumbled, obviously impatient to leave.

"I just want to you to promise me something before you go," Sally replied, glancing over to where Brittany was waiting next to the TARDIS. "Look after Brittany for me. Sometimes, she doesn't know what's good for her. She needs someone to keep an eye on her. Promise me you won't let anything happen."

The Doctor clasped his left hand around Sally's slender fingers. "I promise," he said sincerely. "I would never let anything happen to her."

Sally nodded, and watched the alien hobble across the road, right arm still hanging limply by his side. Once he reached the TARDIS, Brittany practically dragged him inside. He had time to give Sally one little salute before the door snapped shut, obscuring him from view.

There was a clunk, like machinery shifting into place, and the light on top of the police box began to pulse blue. A loud groaning filled the previously silent street, rising and falling in time to the flashing light. The Doctor's spaceship faded out of existence, as if it had simply never been there in the first place.

Sally remained outside out for a while, watching the sun sink between the skyscrapers in a flare of orange. The moon rose up behind her, a full purple globe, staring down upon the world of Sydoriv. While it wasn't cold at all, several hungry insects attacked her exposed arms, so Sally walked back inside her flat, happy that Brittany had finally found something worth doing with her life. She just hoped that nothing bad would happen to her out there in the far reaches of the universe.

As soon as Sally had walked inside, and closed the front door, a bright gold light flashed across the sky, visible for only a bare second. Over the next few days, astronomers debated on what it might have been, and decided that it must have been an abnormal manifestation of the aurora, or northern lights. However, many people believed otherwise, claiming to have seen a giant golden serpent roaring across the heavens for those few moments.

Those stories were dismissed as fanciful tales, but they may not have been that far from the truth.

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**A/N: So there you have it. I'm going to leave you suspense for a couple of days (not really) before I upload Snowglobe.**


	18. Next Time

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: NEXT TIME…**

Brittany read the headline out loud. "Mysterious disappearances baffle authorities." She frowned at the Doctor. "That certainly doesn't sound good."

The Doctor's grin widened. "It says here, that almost thirty people have gone missing over the past week."

* * *

"What are you looking at?" the Doctor asked, unsure of why his companion was staring at what was a perfectly ordinary shop.

Brittany slowly extended one of her hands, pointing at a particular display in the window. "Look at the snowglobes."

* * *

Sally cleared her throat. "It's the Doctor, sir. He's here."

The Brigadier swept past her. "Where is he?"

* * *

"Find that man." The Brigadier pointed at two of the soldiers standing in the room. "You two, find the general, and tell him to take a squad out and collect the Doctor."

* * *

"Greyhound 20, this is HQ. Take squads one and two, and take up flanking positions on the target," the Brigadier said. "Do you copy?"

There was a burst of static before the reply came through. "HQ, this is Greyhound 20. We copy you loud and clear. Moving to flanking positions now. Do we have permission to engage?"

* * *

Lifting the phone to his ear, Jack said, "Hello?"

"Am I talking to Captain Harkness?" a gruff voice replied.

"The one and the only," Jack replied, winking at Gwen and Ianto.

* * *

Jack shrugged. "Torchwood, can snoop to its heart's content." He looked at Ianto. "Well, get to it. I want us scanning the CCTV networks and public security cameras. I want to know what the hell Brittany is doing here."

* * *

"It's so lifelike," Brittany breathed, craning her head for a closer look.

The Doctor shook his head slowly. "It isn't just lifelike. It's living." He looked at the man inside the snowglobe. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said sincerely.

* * *

The Doctor shook his head. "Tell UNIT that I want them to stay out of this, you hear me? I don't want you lot interfering."

* * *

"He doesn't look like he's with the police or UNIT," the second being said, closely observing the Doctor's progress across the screen. "But he may still be a threat."

"Should we have him eliminated?" the first being asked, already preparing to give the order.

* * *

The Doctor and Brittany will return in **Snowglobe**, along with Captain Jack Harkness and the Unified Intelligence Taskforce.


End file.
